Keir Starmer Calls for Better Treatment for Cleaners at Westminster

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13 October 2023

In his Labour Conference speech, Keir Starmer promised: “No more cleaners mocked, as they scrub mess off the walls of illegal parties in Westminster”.

This comment refers to 2022’s investigation into unlawful gatherings on government premises during COVID-19 restrictions in 2020, where Civil Servant Sue Gray described “multiple examples” of poor treatment of both security and cleaning staff. She wrote: “I was made aware of multiple examples of a lack of respect and poor treatment of security and cleaning staff. This was unacceptable."

The British Cleaning Council, the collective voice of the UK’s cleaning, hygiene and waste management industries, is using the opportunity to lobby the Labour Party to commit to the recommendations of 2022’s All-Party Parliamentary Group report: “Embedding Effective Hygiene for a Resilient UK”

“While it is pleasing to hear Mr Starmer highlight the shocking way cleaning staff were treated at Downing Street during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, his words need to be backed by action should his party win the next election, or they risk being empty political posturing."

–Delia Cannings

Chair, British Cleaning Council

Delia Cannings, Chair of the British Cleaning Council, said: “While it is pleasing to hear Mr Starmer highlight the shocking way cleaning staff were treated at Downing Street during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, his words need to be backed by action should his party win the next election, or they risk being empty political posturing. 

“Our industry is calling for recognition for the vital, frontline work that skilled and professional cleaning staff do in keeping the public safe, health and well and for cleaning and hygiene to be made a national priority in order to save lives.

“We want the Labour Party to commit to adopting the recommendations of last year’s MPs’ report, Embedding Effective Hygiene for a Resilient UK, should they come to power, or they are gambling with people’s lives.

“The report’s recommendations will make the UK more resilient to current common infections such as flu and also better prepared for future public health emergencies – like a future pandemic. The recent rise in COVID cases highlights how hugely important it is that we learn the lessons of the pandemic.

“We have written to Mr Starmer’s office previously to ask to discuss key industry issues, but without success, and we will ask again for an urgent meeting with his team.”

Picture: a photograph of Keir Starmer. Image Credit: https://members.parliament.uk/member/4514/portrait via an Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC BY 3.0) licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode

Article written by Ella Tansley | Published 13 October 2023

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