By Richard Johnstone | 24 November 2014
The next Labour government would look to raise as much as £100m by selling off state-owned property in London, including restaurants and the QE2 Conference Centre, the party has announced.
Setting out the proposals from Labour’s Zero Based Review of all public spending, shadow chief secretary to the Treasury Chris Leslie said the party would develop a plan to sell-off non-essential government buildings in prime property areas.
As part of the review, Leslie has already identified four buildings that could be sold.
These include the QE2 Conference Centre, which is estimated to be worth over £25m, Inn The Park, a restaurant in St James’ Park estimated to be worth £6.7m, and the Civil Service Club, estimated to be worth £6.8m. In addition, Marlborough House, which is currently used by the Commonwealth Secretariat free of charge, could also be put up for sale. It is estimated to be worth almost £65m.
Leslie said the party would commission value-for-money reviews of these buildings once in government to consider whether it would be more appropriate for them to be sold, with the proceeds used to pay down the national debt.
‘The next Labour government will get the deficit and debt down, but we will do so in a fairer way and by examining every pound of spending,’ he said.
‘It is time to consider whether it is necessary for the state to continue owning a restaurant in St James’ Park, a club for the exclusive use of civil servants, or a conference centre. Four such buildings in iconic locations in central London could attract interest from buyers around the world.’
Under the zero-based review, Leslie has carried out an analysis of every departmental budget and explored public service reform and redesign in detail with each shadow team. A series of interim reports will be published in the coming weeks, across areas including government assets, policing and local government.
