to believe Lady Starmer should pay for her own clothes and personal stylists?

I always think local politics is a good place to look for any wide trends in political outlook and action. There are and have been for many, many decades plenty of Labour, Tory, Lib and no-overall-control councils. There’s plenty of material to show who’s more honest, incorruptible and decent.

I have never seen anything that generally suggests that any party in local government is more ethically attractive than any other.

In the last five years, Starmer has accepted £76,000 of freebies including clothes, glasses, sport tickets etc. It has all been declared afaik but it definitely leaves a bad taste. In my last job in the public sector I wasn't allowed to take anything other than token gifts (pens, diary etc).
He's very well paid. It's a terrible look. Especially when we are all being told to expect more pain.

Yep, they reckon they are going to fix the state of the country and the fact that people can’t afford to live anymore and/or are too ill to work but how can he possibly understand life from those people’s perspectives when he can expense anything he wants?? They already draw a huge salary. Wankers.

But Lady Starmer is having her clothes bought by a private donator is she not? How is that 'picking the pockets of the elderly?'

And even if it was coming out of the public purse, it's not just the elderly suffering. EVERY age group has been hit by austerity cuts. I'm a bit fed up of some people not caring about anyone else except the 'elderly' when they are the richest of all the age groups!

A sweeping statement and certainly not true. We have one, LibDem, who is totally honest and hardworking for his constituents. And yes, I have met him in person.

Of course, how else is the boss going to get into his office?

But the YouTubers aren’t picking the pockets of the elderly. They aren’t raising taxes and making people poorer.

For me, the saddest thing is that he stood there and told the country we’d be poorer and that pain was coming in an austerity budget.

There was no hopeful message for children who live in poverty, or anyone else. It was just that we all had to feel pain now, in order to fill the big black hole, which enables him to spend more abroad and on climate change.

And all while his wife was gaining a wardrobe worth tens of thousands of pounds. It’s absolutely sickening.

I agree with a pp that all politicians are the same. In it for only themselves. This government will not do any better than the last. They are frauds.

Whilst not against the rules it’s just shows how hypocritical they are they were always claiming the moral high ground from the other side of the fence

honestly tip of the iceberg there’ll be plenty more to come

AR taking fuel allowance off pensioner then claiming £1000’s on expenses for herself

Labour MP is a landlord renting out mould riden shitholes

The optics are awful because it feeds the idea that politicians are all the same. One just corrupt as the other. Which isn't true. Some are much much much more corrupt. I don't think Keir Starmer isn't one of them and I don't vote Labour because our Labour council is corrupt as fuck.

Snouts in the trough. Oinkers the lot of them.

Yep.

Exactly and now there are allegations that one of (the few) Labour peers that supported VAT on school fees in the recent debate in the Lords, made up a story to mislead her fellow peers. That was Baroness Ramsey, Kier Starmer’s ex ethics advisor!

If one side gets upset about wallpaper they can't complain when people feel the same about dresses

First reply nails it.

Couldn’t agree more.

This is a boring non-event.

Bet plenty of Labour, Lib etc supporters did or commented on the threads though.

It is a depressing fact of political discussion in the UK that fans of parties other than the Tories - but especially Labour supporters - maintain that their politics are more ethical, more honest and more humanitarian than the nasty Tories. It’s all horseshit.

I have to disagree... I know a couple of people who are very close to me, who have youtube channels and they have 10s of 1000s of fans/subscribers. Actually 70,000 to 80,000 subscribers. And they are able to send them gifts.

The one has got a 'Throne Wishlist' and has had something like £5000 worth of gifts sent to them just this last couple of months ... If people are donating things and giving things, and it's not affecting anyone else. I don't see a problem with it.

Starmer's wife has had this given by a donator. Can't see the problem.

Then we should all join a union.

And yes, Carrie and Boris Johnson should have paid for their wallpaper and hampers too, that is just as sleazy.

Bet you didn’t start a thread about it though…

Its a nothing story in itself BUT it suggests incompetence in his office and a lack of political nouse that doesn’t bode well.

I don’t care if people in a very public job find someone to cover their clothes and travel
during an election campaign, but not declaring it or understanding how it may look to others is worrying.

I said this on the other thread in chat, but it should concern us all how easily and happily our pms (and mps) will sell access to themselves and be influenced by donors throwing wallpaper and clothes and whatever other ridiculousness at them.

They're all dirty little piglets with their noses in the trough.

Remember this when we're all paying £300 a month council tax, the health service is fully privatised and they tax us for setting foot out of the front door.

No, that’s a more substantial angle on it. It’s tied up with the concerns over crony appointments (which I think is probably more serious in fact, since some, maybe many, are civil service appointments rather than arms-length quango or agency positions).

The facts of Lord Alli’s pass, as I understand them, are fairly minor in time and nature. But, yes, I agree that that part of the story tells us rather more about the conduct and instincts of this government.

The Labour Party pretend to care about others but the reality is that they only care about their own. So if you are in a heavily unionised job, you will be fine. If you are not, they couldn’t give a shit.