A £40m VIP helicopter contract used extensively by the former prime minister Rishi Sunak is to be cancelled as his successor, Keir Starmer, promises to undo “14 years of rot” under the Conservatives.
Starmer and his defence secretary, John Healey, have decided not to renew a contract for helicopter transport which is due to expire at the end of the year after it was extended in 2023 at Sunak’s personal insistence.
The former PM used government-funded helicopters on several occasions while in office, even when train travel would have been almost as quick, using them to travel to events in Southampton, Dover, the West Midlands and Essex.
Healey’s decision not to renew the five-year contract, which had already been put out to tender, is designed to be emblematic of Labour’s break with the previous 14 years of Conservative government.
Starmer will emphasise that theme in a speech in the Downing Street garden on Tuesday as he addresses about 50 people from across the country, promising to end “14 years of rot and a decade of decline”.
Speaking to an audience that will include teachers, nurses and businesspeople, Starmer will draw a contrast between his administration and that of Boris Johnson, under which the Downing Street garden was used to host parties during lockdown.
Starmer will say: “Next week, parliament will return. The business of politics will resume, but it will not be business as usual.
“Because we can’t go on like this any more. No more politics of performance, papering over the cracks, or division and distraction. Things are being done differently now.”
And in an explicit attack on Johnson, he will say: “I wanted to invite you here today to show that the decent, hard-working people who make up the backbone of this country belong here and that this government is for you. A garden and a building that were once used for lockdown-breaking parties are now back in your service.”
While his use of the Downing Street garden is designed to draw a contrast with Johnson’s government, the ending of the VIP helicopter service is meant to highlight the difference from Sunak’s.
Sunak was not the only member of his government to make use of the helicopter service: Grant Shapps used it to collect him from his home three times in six weeks earlier this year, turning it into what Labour called “Britain’s most expensive Uber”.
A Labour source said: “The Tories’ VIP helicopter service became a symbol of their government: grossly wasteful, head in the clouds, and totally out of touch with the problems facing the rest of the country.”
They added: “It tells you everything that, on top of the £22bn black hole that the Tories were blowing in the public finances, Rishi Sunak’s priority was keeping his VIP helicopter service.”
Labour is keen to keep the focus on its inheritance from the previous government as MPs return to Westminster, with Starmer already under pressure over spending cuts and allegations of cronyism.
Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, announced in July she would end winter fuel payments for 10 million pensioners after discovering what she said was a “£22bn black hole” in the public finances.
That decision, as well as her reluctance to end the two-child benefit cap, is causing ructions within the Labour ranks, with several backbenchers voicing their concerns publicly.
Pat McFadden, the Cabinet Office minister, warned on Sunday that the public should expect further pain to come, saying the winter fuel payment cut “won’t be the last tough decision that we have to make in government”.
Starmer is also on the back foot over a series of appointments, which have seen Labour loyalists appointed to senior civil service posts or given access to No 10.
Downing Street is under pressure to say who granted a No 10 pass to Waheed Alli, a Labour donor and fundraiser, who went on to host an event in the Downing Street garden with other Labour donors.
The government was also criticised for appointing Ian Corfield, another Labour donor, as a temporary director at the Treasury. Corfield has since downgraded his role to that of an unpaid adviser.
Starmer will say on Tuesday: “This government won’t always be perfect, but I promise this: you will be at the heart of our government and in the forefront of our minds, at the centre of everything we do.”
