Keir Starmer is one cabinet minister down. This morning Louise Haigh resigned as Transport Secretary following the revelation that she had pleaded guilty to a criminal offence in 2014. Haigh admitted fraud by false representation at a magistrates’ court after she incorrectly told the police that a work mobile had been stolen in 2013. She was then convicted and received a conditional discharge. The incident occurred six months before she became an MP.
Starmer knew about the conviction prior to the press reports on Thursday
Announcing her resignation this morning in a letter to the Prime Minister, Haigh said she remained ‘totally committed to our political project’ but had concluded it would be ‘best served by my supporting you from outside government’. Notably, Haigh states that Starmer was already aware of the fraud conviction. In response to her resignation letter, Starmer has replied:
‘Thank you for all you have done to deliver this government’s ambitious transport agenda. You have made huge strides to take our rail system back into public ownership through the creation of Great British Railways, investing £1bn in our vital bus services and lowering cost for motorists. I know you still have a huge contribution to make in the future.’
The comments clearly leave the door open for a return to frontline politics in the future. Starmer knew about the conviction prior to the press reports on Thursday. Haigh is understood to have disclosed the conviction when she was first appointed to his shadow cabinet. As the conviction has now been spent it is no longer on her record. Haigh has made clear her regret over the incident and the advice she was given at the time on how to respond.
It does raise the question of Starmer’s judgment. If he was fine with it when it was not public knowledge, did he want Haigh to remain in post? Or did he want her to go after the press reports – and Haigh would have been pushed if she had not quit of her own accord? Is the problem her spent conviction or that the story is a ‘distraction’? The feeling of some in the party is it was clear her position was untenable so Haigh has done the right thing by going quickly. The hope will be that the story now goes away.
However, the Tories are already going on the attack over the revelation that Starmer knew about the conviction. A Conservative party spokesman says: ‘In her resignation letter, she states that Keir Starmer was already aware of the fraud conviction, which raises questions as to why the prime minister appointed Ms Haigh to cabinet with responsibility for a £30bn budget?’ The story will now move to questions over the judgment of the Prime Minister.
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