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Sir Keir Starmer has paid back more than £6,000 worth of gifts and hospitality he received since the election.
The prime minister is covering the cost of six Taylor Swift tickets, four tickets to the races and a clothing rental agreement with a high-end designer favoured by his wife, Lady Victoria Starmer.
The row over ministerial donations followed him to Brussels, where he met Ursula von der Leyen as part of his bid to “reset” Britain’s relations with the European Union.
During a press conference, Sir Keir explained that it was “right” for him to repay the cost of some gifts, which included £6,134 he received in “clothing and personal support” from Lord Waheed Alli.
The fashion mogul is under investigation by the Lords’ commissioner over alleged non-registration of interests that could lead to a possible breach of the members’ code of conduct.
While Labour faces spiralling criticism, the battle for the Tory crown continues. The four candidates to take over from Rishi Sunak as leader have given their keynote speeches at the Conservative Party conference.
James Cleverly apologised for the party’s brutal election defeat in July, urging the party to avoid complacency and warning against “wallowing in self-pity”.
Key Points
- Lord Alli under investigation over ‘alleged non-registration of interests'
- Starmer repays £6,000 worth of gifts after freebies row
- Labour MPs ‘scared for their jobs’ over their stance on Israel
- Ministers vow to end ‘Tory chokehold on investment’ with major announcement
- Boris Johnson interview cancelled after host accidentally sends notes
Labour MPs ‘scared for their jobs’ over their stance on Israel
Labour MPs who disagree with Sir Keir Starmer on the Israel-Palestine conflict are “scared for their jobs”, suspended Labour member Zarah Sultana has said.
The Jeremy Corbyn ally has been a fierce critic of Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza and championed for a full arms embargo to Israel in parliament.
Ms Sultana, who now sits as an Independent, said “many” Labour MPs agree with her stance but felt unable to go public through a fear of losing their jobs.
When asked how many Labour MPs agree with her views, she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Many do because we are seeing death of 41,000 Palestinians in Gaza. We are seeing death in Lebanon and we know the UK government could take a different route where it prioritised lives, treated them all equally and ended all arms sales.
“I think it’s deeply concerning that people aren’t willing to be public about that because they are scared for their jobs.”
Earlier on the programme, Nick Robinson said the BBC had contacted six sitting Labour MPs who were highly critical of Sir Keir Starmer over his stance on Israel, but added: “None would come on the programme as they said, and I quote one of the MPs we contacted, ‘it would cost us our jobs’.”
The former Labour MP received a six-month suspension in July alongside seven other members who rebelled against Sir Keir to scrap the two-child benefit cap.
ICYMI: Conservative Party leadership candidates final speeches in full
Conservative leadership candidates appeal to members on final day of conference
Watch again as the Conservative Party's leadership contest candidates spoke to members on the final day of the party conference on Wednesday, 2 October.
Salma Ouaguira3 October 2024 08:40 1727941105Labour vows to end ‘Tory chokehold on investment’ with major announcement
Labour seems to have a new weapon under its sleeve to turn opinion polls around.
The government is teasing a “major investment announcement” which Labour promises will “spark the creation of thousands of jobs and igniting growth in industrial heartlands of the UK”.
There are little details of what exactly the policy will be. But energy secretary Ed Milliband will make the big announcement tomorrow alongside the prime minister and chancellor.
Ministers promised that the mysterious changes will end “years of blockage and stagnation by successive Conservative governments, too mired in internal politics to seize the opportunities of the future”.
Salma Ouaguira3 October 2024 08:38 1727940272Starmer not in politics to be popular, says minister
Sir Keir Starmer’s personal ratings dropped while he was busy dealing with the row over ministerial donations.
A poll by Opinium revealed the prime minister’s ratings collapsed 45 points since July to -26 during the Labour conference weekend.
According to the survey, 24 per cent of voters approved of the job he was doing while 50 per cent disapproved.
Despite the damning results in only three months in government, industry minister Sarah Jones believes Sir Keir has nothing to fear.
Ms Jones said: “He is not going to be worrying about popularity. He hasn’t gone into politics to do that. But he is really clear that we need to build trust in politicians and politics.
“We are going to go govern in the way that we say we were, which is to drive up integrity, grow the economy and improve people’s lives, and make sure we listen to the public.”
Labour minister investigating whether she can repay Proms ticket back
Sir Keir Starmer’s move to repay more than £6,000 worth of freebies seems to have shaken a minister’s conscience.
During this morning media round, business minister Sarah Jones said she is investigating whether she can pay back a BBC Proms ticket she received as a gift.
The MP for Croydon West, told Times Radio: “If I looked at me being an MP for seven years, been to three events – one Selhurst Park, one the Capital Radio Summertime Ball which the owners LBC invited me to, and one was to the Proms.
“From a perspective of did I declare everything, was I doing this loads of times, was I kind of out and all the time taking freebies, was I giving anybody anything for these things? It was all completely above board.
“But if I look at it through the lens that the public is now looking at it and the question we’re talking about, for what purpose I’m going to those events, I’m not going to go to another event that I’m invited to.”
Asked if she will pay it back, Ms Jones said: “I’m not sure I could but I will certainly look at that, yeah. The issue of the Proms that I’ve been to, I am just investigating whether I could pay that back.”
Salma Ouaguira3 October 2024 08:02 1727938525WATCH | Which Tory leader came out on top at Conservative Party Conference?
Boris Johnson interview cancelled after Laura Kuenssberg accidentally sends notes
TV host Laura Kuenssberg has revealed she sent Boris Johnson briefing notes forcing the anticipated interview with the former prime minister to be axed.
The BBC’s political editor admitted the personal gaffe was “embarrassing and disappointing” and the error meant it “was not right for the interview to go ahead”.
Ms Kuenssberg tweeted on Wednesday: “While prepping to interview Boris Johnson tomorrow, by mistake I sent our briefing notes to him in a message meant for my team.”
The interview has now been scheduled for Sunday, when Mr Johnson will be grilled over his past leadership and his upcoming memoir ‘Unleashed’.
God morning
Welcome back to the Politics Blog.
The party conference season is over and while the Tory membership is busy choosing a new leader, Labour is trying to return to the normal routine of governing.
Sir Keir Starmer has ben splashed with spiralling criticism for accepting thousands of pounds in freebies.
The donations backlash followed him to Brussels, where he said it was “right” for him to repay more than £6,000 worth of gifts and hospitality, including clothes donated by probed Lord Alli.
As the row rumbles on, we will bring you all the live updates and analysis throughout the day.
Salma Ouaguira3 October 2024 07:34 1727937025SKETCH | ‘Let’s be normal’ is now the rallying cry from a desperate Tory party
Finally, it was the climax of the week for the Conservative candidates; the chance to pose on stage with an audience of 1,900 and show their real selves. If only they hadn’t, writes Joe Murphy:
‘Let’s be normal’ is now the rallying cry from a desperate Tory party
Finally, it was the climax of the week for the Conservative candidates; the chance to pose on stage with an audience of 1,900 and show their real selves. If only they hadn’t, writes Joe Murphy
Salma Ouaguira3 October 2024 07:30 1727935200Axing two-child limit ‘most cost-effective move but no silver bullet on poverty’
Scrapping the two-child limit would lift more than half a million out of absolute poverty at an eventual cost to the government of £2.5 billion a year, but would “do nothing” for the poorest households caught by the remaining benefit cap, a think tank has said.
Doing away with the two-child limit would be the single most cost-effective way of reducing child poverty, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), but it said that such a policy change is “not a silver bullet”.
Scrapping both the two-child limit and the benefit cap would lift 620,000 children out of absolute poverty but would cost more than £3 billion annually, the organisation said.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has been under pressure, since he came to power in July, to remove the two-child policy, and some of Labour’s own MPs were suspended after backing another party’s motion to do so.
The government has cited spending controls as a reason for not being able to immediately ditch the policy, indicating there would be no change to it without economic growth.
The two-child limit was first announced in 2015 by the Conservatives and came into effect in 2017. It restricts child tax credit and universal credit to the first two children in most households.
In a new report setting out estimates for the costs and effects of scrapping different policies, rather than recommendations, the IFS said reversing the two-child limit would lift 540,000 children out of absolute poverty.
Salma Ouaguira3 October 2024 07:00 Newer1 / 5OlderDisclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.
