To be fair there has been some shocking failures directly related to cronyism, largely the huge failure of track and trace and dire situation around PPR procurement. All of these were closed bids (no one else could submit an offer) and all were won by relatives or those close to an elected official in government (mostly the health secretary). Legal action is just been granted for this to go to court and gain transparency into the £billions of hidden contracts.

https://www.occrp.org/en/daily/13239-court-to-look-into-uk-g...

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/politics/record-view-cron...