A new report from the Autonomy Institute has found that companies that donate to Labor won government contracts worth almost £138 million in the party’s first year in office.
The results, reflecting similar patterns under the previous Conservative government, have renewed concerns about political transparency and procurement integrity. Anti-corruption activists are calling for reforms to prevent companies that donate to political parties from bidding for public contracts.
The report identified eight companies that donated a total of £580,000 to Labor between July 2024 and June 2025, before being awarded contracts worth a total of £137.9 million within two years of their donation.
Looking beyond the current government, the Autonomy Institute said the practice of corporate donors winning public contracts was a cross-party issue affecting both Labor and Conservative governments.
It found that since 2001, 25 companies that donated to Labor have won contracts worth £796 million, while Conservative-linked companies have won contracts worth £25.4 billion in total – much of it during the pandemic, including contracts with Randox Laboratories and Globus Shetland.
Across both parties, the study identified 125 companies that donated £30.15m to political parties and were subsequently awarded £28.8bn in central government contracts, with £2.5bn of this awarded within two years of the donation.
Dr. Susan Hawley, chief executive of Spotlight on Corruption, said the findings had exposed “systemic weaknesses” in the UK’s handling of conflicts of interest.
“There is nothing more damaging to public trust than the perception that those with privileged access to power are given privileged access to taxpayer-funded contracts,” she said.
“These results highlight a systemic problem. We need systemic solutions – including weeding out political donors from the fundraising process and considering banning directors of such companies from making political donations.”
Dr. Will Stronge, executive director of the Autonomy Institute, said: “When the same companies that fund political parties also receive government contracts, the line between public service and private influence becomes dangerously blurred. The only way to address concerns is to ban political donors from receiving government contracts.”
Companies named in the report included:
• Baringa Partners, which donated £30,061 to Labor in January 2024 and has since won £35.2 million in government contracts.
• Grant Thornton, who donated £81,658 between March 2023 and July 2024 and went on to win contracts worth £6.5 million.
The report also identified four of the government’s 39 “strategic suppliers” – companies on which the public sector relies heavily – that donated to political parties and later won major contracts: Fujitsu, KPMG, Microsoft and PwC.
Both Microsoft and PwC were found to have donated under both Labor and Conservative governments.
A government spokesman said: “All government contracts are awarded fairly and transparently in accordance with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. All decisions are rigorously scrutinized to ensure the best possible benefit for the taxpayer.”
A Conservative Party spokesman said all donations were fully in line with Electoral Commission rules and rejected suggestions of impropriety.
“As the National Audit Office and the Cabinet Office have made clear, ministers properly represented their interests and were not involved in procurement decisions. Donations never influenced the awarding of government contracts.”
Ahead of the 2024 election, Labor was among the most vocal critics of such practices, condemning the awarding of contracts to Conservative-linked companies during the pandemic without open tender.
Then-Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves said at the time: “The British public is understandably angry that so much public money has ended up with the friends and donors of the Tory Party.”
PwC said it had only provided “non-cash support” in the form of limited technical assistance to major political parties under strict governance arrangements and denied any political affiliation.
KPMG declined to comment.
Other companies identified in the report were contacted but did not respond.
The study included the projected future value of multi-year contracts, meaning not all of the £28.8bn mentioned has been spent yet. Additionally, it focused exclusively on corporate donors and not individuals who gave in a personal capacity.
The findings are likely to increase scrutiny of Labor’s corporate fundraising activities and put pressure on the government to tighten fundraising rules and increase public transparency around political donations.
