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Andrew Feinberg
White House Correspondent
Keir Starmer has said he will not accept any more free clothes from donors after days of negative headlines over ‘wardrobegate’.
Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves have also made the same pledge, in an abrupt change of policy just before Labour’s annual conference opens this weekend.
But the moves still leaves Labour’s top team free to accept thousands of pounds worth of other gifts and hospitality.
The row erupted after it emerged the prime minister did not initially declare clothing bought for his wife Victoria by Lord Alli, who has given more than £500,000 to Labour over the last 20 years.
As the row raged Lady Starmer made a surprise appearance at London Fashion Week, in a borrowed outfit.
The Labour leader himself was also embroiled in his own row in over his decision to accept more than £100,000 in gifts.
In what was dubbed “passes for glasses”, Lord Alli, a prominent donor, also gave him tens of thousands of pounds worth of clothing and accommodation, including “multiple pairs” of spectacles.
And the row over ‘freebies’ spread to other members of the cabinet.
It emerged that Ms Rayner, the deputy PM, stayed at a flat owned by the wealthy peer in New York over New Year.
And Wes Streeting joked he had been “outed” as a Taylor Swift fan after accepting free tickets to a concert.
The change of heart comes after a series of senior Labour figures defended the donations.
Emily Thornberry questioned whether the public expected the PM to “take a packed lunch” to a state dinner at Buckingham Palace.
At the weekend foreign secretary David Lammy said the donations were accepted so the Labour leader and his wife could “look their best”.
But cabinet minister Dame Angela Eagle struggled to defend Sir Keir on Tuesday, telling Times Radio she was “not responsible for decisions the prime minister makes”.
And former Labour minister Baroness Harman publicly criticised Sir Keir for accepting more than £100,000 worth of gifts and hospitality over the past five years. She warned her party leader was making it “worse” by trying to justify donations to pay for thousands of pounds’ worth of clothes for himself and his wife.
Earlier this week Sir Keir defended accepting free tickets to watch his beloved Arsenal football club. In an interview with Sky News, he said: “Security advice says I can’t go into the stands as it would cost the taxpayers a fortune, so I’ve been offered tickets where it’s more secure and we don’t have to use taxpayers money on additional security.”
MPs are required to register gifts and donations within 28 days.
Commons rules say MPs should register “any benefit given to any third party, whether or not this accompanied a benefit for him or her, if the Member is aware, or could reasonably be expected to be aware, of the benefit and that it was given because of his or her membership of the House or parliamentary or political activities”.
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