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Labour has been criticised by backbench MPs and trade unions over plans for outsourcer Mitie to host a drinks reception for the UK’s ruling party, despite ministers promising the “biggest wave of insourcing” in a generation.
Labour parliamentarians from the north west of England will be able to “relax in a private setting with senior party figures” at the July 15 event at the Shard in London, according to an invitation sent out by the party.
Labour — which last year pledged to remove swaths of public sector contracts from private companies over time — is “delighted to be partnering” with “the UK’s leading facilities transformation company” for the summer soirée, added the invitation seen by the Financial Times.
But unions and MPs said accusations made against Mitie of “union busting” tactics, profiteering from public contracts and being a bad employer meant its sponsorship of the event was at odds with the government’s agenda.
Kim Johnson, Labour MP for Liverpool Riverside, said the event “raises serious questions about whether Labour is prepared to hold them to account for their track record”.
“At a time when we’re pledging the biggest wave of insourcing for a generation, it’s deeply concerning to see that Mitie has been invited to sponsor one of our own party events. It sends the wrong signal to bosses and workers,” she added.
Another Labour MP said their party needed to be “much more discerning when it comes to maintaining a level of basic hygiene between us and companies who clearly do not share our fundamental values”.
“When we committed to the biggest insourcing in history, I don’t think any of our members or voters thought we meant we were going to bring outsourcers in to finance our drinks receptions,” the person added.
Mitie holds scores of outsourced contracts across central and local government, including NHS cleaning services, the operation of immigration detention centres and the provision of security to HM Revenue & Customs.
Sam Doherty, north west regional organiser at Unison, Britain’s biggest union, pointed to current industrial action by NHS cleaners in East Lancashire, whom he said had been “paid incorrectly” by Mitie for months.
“Staff have missed bills, and one cleaner, undergoing chemotherapy, was unable to cover the cost of travel to her appointments,” he said. “After over a year since Unison members raised this, Mitie are still to address the issues.”
One Unite the union official in the north west said the event “really brings into question the organisers’ judgment”.
The row over the Shard reception comes as ministers work through a number of high-profile policy reforms with direct relevance to Mitie’s operations, including immigration services.
Last week Angela Rayner, deputy prime minister and a north-west MP, vowed to make it easier for councils to bring services back in-house and to “undo the ideological presumption of outsourcing by default, as part of our plan to make work pay”.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, where Rayner is the lead minister, launched a consultation on insourcing this month.
A third north west Labour MP said they were “not happy” about Mitie’s involvement in the reception, noting that partying in the Shard after recent disputes over contentious welfare reforms “sends the wrong message”.
It is unclear whether Mitie is providing sponsorship beyond the use of its space in the Shard, although according to the invitation, which was sent out by the office of the Parliamentary Labour party, the company’s staff will be on hand to greet MPs.
Mitie said: “We regularly engage with representatives from all political parties, including through parliamentary receptions, to share insights and build constructive relationships.”
The company has previously said the Unison dispute over NHS cleaners’ pay was a historic grievance it inherited from a previous contractor and that it has made every effort to resolve it.
The Labour party did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
