Dear oh dear. Things are only getting worse for Sir Keir, as it now transpires that the Prime Minister accepted £40,000 in hospitality gifts, a £4 million donation from a Cayman Islands-registered hedge fund, and regular use of an £18 million penthouse owned by top donor Lord Alli. Alright for some, eh?
It’s been a rough week for the PM as ‘frockgate‘ continues to rumble on, and the scrutiny on Starmer’s acceptance of some rather extravagant donations is only growing. As reported by the Telegraph, not only did the Labour leader accept clothing and glasses from Lord Alli, he also used Alli’s 5,000 square foot home on election night, as well as for strategy meetings and fundraisers. Sir Keir declared £20,400 for ‘accommodation’ from the Labour peer but didn’t quite manage to include the full detail. How curious…
More than that, the Labour Party received its biggest donation from Quadrature Capital, a venture with shares worth millions in fossil fuels and arms manufacturers – and accepted a rather lot of tickets for football matches and gigs. It also turns out that the PM accepted £4,000 worth of Taylor Swift tickets, while his wife also accepted two free tickets to see the US singer-songwriter, during her summer tour – which some are viewing as a rather self-indulgent decision. Talk about being the Anti-Hero, eh?
And Sir Keir (an avid football fan) also received £12,600 of Premier League football tickets and was even given use of a corporate box by Arsenal – a feature advertised as costing at least £8,750 a pop. The cumulative cost of Starmer’s donations mean that the PM has accepted many more freebies than any other MP since becoming Labour leader. Good heavens…
Yet while some might have expected Labour government ministers to be rather cagey about Starmer’s gift receipts, it appears that the Business Secretary has other ideas. Speaking to Times Radio this morning about the donations received by the PM, Jonathan Reynolds insisted: ‘If people get the chance for a bit of relaxation as part of that then I’ve no problem.’ It’s only the latest questionable broadcast round on the matter featuring Sir Keir’s government, with Angela Eagle, Yvette Cooper and David Lammy all rather putting their feet in it this week too. Talk about tone deaf…
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