“In the last year, Labour Ministers authorised officials to spend £134,503 on buying 28 luxury sofas at the cost of £4,120 each. The designer sofas were produced by Parisian designers, Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, and bizarrely were purchased as part of an efficiency drive.

In an echo of Ed Ball’s ‘contemplation suite’ in the Department for Children, Schools and Families, these sofas were billed as helping create a “truly peaceful oasis” in Whitehall for council tax officials.

The 28 shocking-red ‘Alcove Highback’ sofas were placed across the Department for Communities and Local Government in Eland House, near Victoria. In total, £2.8 million was spent on new furniture as part of an efficiency initiative called ‘SpaceFlex’ to make the department “more practical” and save money.” Read in full at ConservativeHome.