FORTY-years of privatisation has left us with a patchwork of fragmented providers, weakened state capacity to deliver anything, and declining public confidence in essential services.

When Andy Burnham talks about ending 40 years of “neoliberalism”, he talks of rebuilding that capacity and that confidence in the state to deliver for us. Crucial to that too, is the premise that when government. When government spends public money, its spending should deliver public benefit here in Britain. This should be not “if possible”, but by design.

In the first weeks of this new administration, we have seen a commitment from Chancellor John Healy to “Back British” as a central organising principle of public procurement. Businesses bidding for government contracts - a market worth £90-billion per year - will now be assessed on their commitment to creating highquality British jobs, tackling local skills shortages, and supporting young people into apprenticeships and work placements. The aim is to ensure that the vast majority of government contracts are in-sourced in order to drive investment, strengthen our domestic supply chains, and, most importantly, deliver for British people.

John Healy affirmed his commitment to British jobs in his previous position as a well-respected Defence Secretary. Since the 2024 election, more than 1,400 major defence contracts have been signed, with 94% of spend being channelled directly into UK-based companies.

His first speech as Chancellor cemented that commitment as a second-nature principle of Burnham’s government. From transport, to energy, defence, and AI, this government is backing Britain with its public procurement model. This represents a significant, if often overlooked, shift in the philosophy of public service delivery: the question is no longer how government procures services from the market, but whether buying from the market is the right route in the first place.

Throughout my time as an MP, I have constructed similar arguments. I have repeatedly called for public procurement to support British businesses, local jobs and apprenticeships, arguing that this government spending is needed to rebuild economic strength in communities that feel left behind, calling, for example, in a recent paper on my Substack, for our Labour government to seize a historic opportunity for bringing NHS services back in-house, given that the vast majority of outsourcing contracts are due to expire.

This is how we ensure growth in every postcode.

Of course, none of this works unless it is built on the firm foundations of fiscal credibility. As John Healy has himself stated, fiscal discipline is the bedrock of both economic stability and national security. As such, this commitment is about making smarter use of the money government already spends, ensuring that every procurement pound delivers the greatest possible return for taxpayers through economic growth, industrial skill, local jobs and national resilience.

I’m proud to say that this approach is already beginning to bear fruit for Cornwall and the south west.

This means that every pound we invest in British companies works twofold. Once for national security, twice for British industry.