Labour conference has been and gone and still Lord Alli remains in the headlines. The latest claims regarding the multimillionaire peer surround his £18 million penthouse flat in Covent Garden which Keir Starmer used repeatedly during his time as Leader of the Opposition.
Two periods in particular are being scrutinised by the press. First, the use of Alli’s flat by Starmer during the later stages of Covid. Second, his decision this spring to move his family there to allow his son to revise for his GCSEs. While the criticism of Lord Alli initially centred on claims of wealthy donors and ‘cash for access’, the story has now moved on to whether Starmer has been honest in declaring his use of Alli’s flat.
Starmer is vulnerable to claims of improper declarations, having painted himself as ‘Mr Rules’
Throughout his leadership of the Labour party, Starmer has infrequently used Alli’s penthouse to record official videos. One, from December 2021, saw him sat behind a desk, urging people to follow work-from-home guidance during the Omicron variant. As the Daily Mail intoned sternly, ‘a picture of his family and Christmas cards on shelves behind him created the impression’ it was filmed at Starmer’s home. Downing Street initially claimed this week that the aforementioned video was a ‘one-off’; this excuse was knocked down less than an hour later when it emerged he also filmed his tribute to the late Queen at Alli’s flat.
Keir Starmer has denied that he misled the media over the use of his flat. He told reporters in New York last night that ‘anybody who thinks I was pretending it was my own home, the idea that I’ve got Union Jacks by my fireplace…is pretty farcical.’ Critics want to know why Starmer did not declare his stay in the MPs’ register of interests. Labour has declared donations for ‘hospitality’ from the peer with the Electoral Commission, which would negate the need for this. Unsurprisingly, this is not enough for the likes of Tory leadership contender Robert Jenrick, who wants the Prime Minister to ‘come clean’ and publish a full list of times when he used Alli’s apartment.
Attention is also focused on the period between May and July this year when Starmer and his family stayed at Alli’s residence. The Labour leader says he stayed here to help his son during his summer exams, telling reporters that: ‘I promised him we would move somewhere, get out of the house and go somewhere where he could be peacefully studying’. The Guido Fawkes blog suggests that, as a result, there could have been a potential breach of electoral law. On his nomination paper, Starmer said he was living at an address in Holborn and St. Pancras – yet he could have been based at Lord Alli’s penthouse instead. There may also be issues involving declarations of election expenses.
So where does all this leave Keir Starmer? The Prime Minister is particularly vulnerable to claims around improper declarations, having painted himself as ‘Mr Rules’. But it has not yet been clearly established that any rules have in fact been broken. There are clear lines of inquiry for the Tories to pursue, with the Byzantine world of electoral law offering plenty of opportunities – as Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner found out earlier this year. However, while these stories are clearly an irritation for No. 10, there is no sense yet among Labour MPs that they are approaching a crisis for the Prime Minister.
‘We just want a grip on it,’ says one new boy. ‘And to start talking about better things sharpish.’ Starmer’s net approval rating now sits at -27 – roughly the same level Rishi Sunak was at when he called the election, and a fall of 38 points since July.
Two conclusions seem obvious from the constant stories about Lord Alli. The first is how flat-footed the No. 10 media operation has been at times. Downing Street’s claim that Starmer’s 2021 Omicron video was a ‘one-off’ was knocked down within an hour, while it took the best part of a week to establish a line on Alli’s other gifts. The second is just how often the Labour leader and his team have turned to the peer as a first resort throughout the last four years. Lord Alli’s function as Starmer’s Swiss army knife – as a host, donor, strategist and contact book – shows why, despite the endless headlines, the Prime Minister will not be distancing himself from him any time soon.
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