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There’s no reason to trust Serco
Despite being roundly criticised by Labour shadow ministers when in opposition, the notorious outsourcing company appears to be back in the party fold and expecting further lucrative government contracts, SOLOMON HUGHES reports
A Serco prison van arriving at the Central Criminal Court, better known as the Old Bailey, in central London, March 31, 2023
LYNNE WALSH previews the Bristol Radical History Conference this weekend
Keir Starmer’s £120 million to Sudan cannot cover the government’s complicity in the RSF genocide or atone for the long shadow of British colonialism and imperialism, writes CLAUDIA WEBBE
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We face austerity, privatisation, and toxic influence. But we are growing, and cannot be beaten
PRIVATISER Serco held private talks with Keir Starmer, Rachel Reeves and other shadow cabinet members before the election about getting more work from a Labour government, according to comments made by its chief executive at this month’s Labour conference.
Reeves previously publicly condemned Serco and promised to reverse public-sector outsourcing, but it looks like Labour has now abandoned these positions.
Serco chief executive Anthony Kirby was addressing a Labour conference fringe meeting that his firm paid think tank Demos to organise. Thanks to funding the meeting, discussing Labour’s “missions” and “public services,” Kirby was on the panel for the event. He told the meeting, held in a 40-seater room in Liverpool’s Hilton hotel, that “before the election we were really excited by some of the conversations we had with Sir Keir and Rachel and some of the shadow cabinet.” By Rachel, he meant Rachel Reeves, so it looks like Serco’s boss is on first-name terms with the Chancellor.
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