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Louise Thomas
Editor
Labour has come under renewed pressure in its ongoing ‘freebies’ row after it was revealed that Sir Keir Starmer accepted £20,000 in accommodation costs to help his son study for his GCSEs.
The donation was declared to Parliament by the prime minister somewhat cryptically as “accommodation.”
The nature of the massive donation from Labour donor Lord Waheed Alli had remained a mystery until Sir Keir was asked by the BBC about its purpose.
He told the broadcaster: “At the beginning of the election, which we didn’t know when it was going to be called, my boy was in the middle of his GCSEs.
“I made him a promise that he’ll be able to get to his school, do his exams without being disturbed.”
The revelation marks the latest episode in the Labour row as all MPs come under scrutiny for their record on gifts – despite the prime minister’s attempt to shoot down the criticism as “silly.”
It was recently revealed that Sir Keir has accepted £107,000 in gifts since 2019, more than two and a half times more than any other MP. During the campaign trail, he was given £55,122.28 by donor Lord Waheed Alli, including work clothing, accommodation – and £2,485 for “multiple pairs of glasses.”
It was later revealed that Lord Alli had also covered £5,000 in personal shopper and clothing alteration fees for the prime minister’s wife, Lady Victoria Starmer, both before and after the general election. While this was not declared by Sir Keir within the required 28-day window, Downing Street has said there will be no investigation into the matter.
Most other gifts are related to attending Arsenal football matches. As an MP, Sir Keir has been gifted tickets and hospitality by clubs like Manchester City, Wolverhampton Wanderers, West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur as they take on his beloved Gunners.
The most valuable of these – worth £3,000 – was five tickets with hospitality to see Arsenal’s 4-2 win (on penalties) against Porto in the Champions League in March. The gift came directly from the Premier League.
The prime minister has defended his record on gifts, calling the criticism “silly”. Responding to his football-related freebies, he said: “Now that is a gift, but I think accepting that is more understandable. If I insisted on going in the stands, that would cost the taxpayer more money through extra security.”
However, the most valuable gift given to Sir Keir so far outside of Lord Alli’s donations were four tickets with hospitality to a Taylor Swift concert, worth £4,000.
And it’s not just the prime minister who’s a fan of the American popstar. Since coming into power, nine Labour MPs have been gifted tickets to see Ms Swift, at a combined value of £17,102.54.
Amongst them are health secretary Wes Streeting and education secretary Bridget Phillipson. Asked about the gift on ITV news, Ms Phillipson said: “I’ll be honest it was a hard one to turn down. I appreciate there was big demand for tickets, it was a privilege to be there.
“One of my children was keen to go along it’s hard to say no if you are offered tickets in those circumstances.”
For the many MPs who receive gifts, they are often related to sports events or theatre performances. The latter is a favourite of Rachel Reeves, who accepted nearly £1,000 in tickets for her and guests since 2023. Like Sir Keir, she also accepted a £7,500 gift for clothing in opposition, something she has said is not “planned to continue.”
The chancellor also went to two nights of the BBC Proms as a gift from the public broadcaster in September 2023. Speaking to Nick Robinson in an interview on the Today programme, she pointed out that both of them had gone as BBC guests to the event.
“I don’t begrudge ministers or indeed shadow ministers going to a football match or going to a pop concert,” she said.
“I’ve been with both of you Nick (Robinson) and Chris (Mason) to the first night of the proms and the last night of the proms as guests of the BBC.”
She later added: “I always declare anything in the right and proper way and I think that that is important, but I don’t think that brings me into conflict in any way in the decisions that I make as chancellor or indeed as shadow chancellor.”
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