Campaign group EveryDoctor has raised the alarm over the “incredibly concerning” financial links between politicians and private healthcare sector. Notably, off the back of its recently published research, it has continued to expose Labour Party government ministers’ significant connections to lobbyists shilling for big players in private health.
EveryDoctor: Labour and the lobbyists
In April, EveryDoctor put out a new piece of damning research uncovering the scale of private healthcare connected political donations MPs have been raking in. In particular, it pored over donations that the current crop of elected MPs have accepted between 2023 and 2025.
It found that MPs had bagged more than £2.7m in donations from individuals and companies directly or indirectly linked to the private healthcare sector.
And crucially, it was Labour MPs that took more than £2m of those £2.7m donations. It accounted for four times the amount of every other political party combined.
Now, the group is honing in on some of the key offenders in Cabinet. And what’s notable is the sizeable chunk of donations lobbyists linked to privatised health have been pouring into the pockets of key government ministers.
So far, the group has unearthed that lobbyists ploughed £110,000 into MPs’ political donations during 2023 and 2024. And these lobbyists count some of the most prominent private healthcare companies among their clients.
Rachel Reeves in bed with private healthcare lobbyists
Chancellor Rachel Reeves was one such more-than-willing recipient. She accepted a free campaign advisor from political lobbying firm FGS Global between February and May 2024. This amounted to a donation-in-kind worth more than £17,000.
FGS Global also funded a further £12,929 of “logistical costs” for Reeves at the Labour Party conference in October 2024.
Why is this significant? It’s because FGS Global has a link to US private healthcare group United Health.
Specifically, FGS Global went on to lobby the government on behalf of Optum between July and September 2024. This is the UK subsidiary of US private healthcare group United Health.
The firm’s other clients have included Ernst and Young, which has been criticised for billing the NHS more than £2,000 a day for its consultants. Accord Healthcare is another. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) previously fined the UK drug company for overcharging the NHS.
Meanwhile, education secretary Bridget Phillipson and business secretary Jonathan Reynolds also accepted a total of £5,900 in sponsorship from lobbying firm Public First for a
pre-election media reception. Public First’s clients include the Independent Healthcare Providers Network (IHPN), an industry group representing private health firms operating in the UK.
The money moving through Westminster
Ultimately, EveryDoctor says it is:
incredibly concerned at the way that money is moving through Westminster, and the links between our politicians and those with private healthcare interests.
It argues that:
Important questions need to be asked about who is really driving healthcare policy in the UK, and for the benefit of whom? Decisions about the NHS should be solely driven by what is best for patients, and what can be done to support our hardworking staff to do their important work properly.
The campaign group’s incisive research has – quite literally – put the damning scale of the MPs private healthcare donations on the map. EveryDoctor has consistently held politicians of every stripe to account. Now, it’s latest work is no exception – scrutinising Labour with no fear, no favour.
Moreover, the group has said that this is only the start of its research. There’s more to expose where all that came from. Therefore, it’s building a “living map”, and will be adding more data soon.
EveryDoctor founder Dr Julia Grace Patterson has issued a plea for public support:
We are desperately concerned about the welfare of millions of NHS patients and staff, because of what politicians have done to the NHS. We think it’s time to step things up and build a movement to push back, and we need your support to do it!
You can donate to its Crowdfunder here.
It’s evidently vital EveryDoctor can continue its work throwing a spotlight on dodgy political donations, because already, it’s clear that private healthcare lobbyist have won the ear of this Labour government.
Featured image via the Canary
