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

[LargeDeviation]

https://news.sky.com/story/starmer-faces-investigation-over-possible-breach-of-parliamentary-rules-after-labour-donor-pays-for-wifes-clothes-13215216

And Keir Starmer should have paid himself for his 'several pairs of glasses' and £19K worth of work clothes? On top of that there was £20K for accommodation for Sir Keir and another 'similar sum' on 'private office' costs.

Purely by coincidence, it seems the donor was given a Downing Street security pass allowing easy access to the corridors of power without any role in government.

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

The issue is the huge chasm between his words and his actions. We knew Johnson and Bliar were slippery characters. And neither of them were this brazen so quicklly!!

But, highlighting just one sentence from his his acceptance speech:

You have given us a clear mandate and we will use it to deliver change. To restore service and respect to politics, end the era of noisy performance, tread more lightly on your lives.

He said he was going to restore service and respect to politics, and yet he won’t even pay for his own clothes. He’s accepted more ‘gifts’ than all the other Labour leaders in the last 27 years combined, and worse, he thinks he entitled to it. He sent his fixer out to moan that the position didn’t come with a clothing allowance. And he’s not in the slightest bit sorry…he truly believes he’s entitled to accept gifts like that. Passes for glasses, Starmani gate, cronyism. Call it what you like, but he’s spend the last goodness know how long telling us he’d be different. And he isn’t.

Frankly that £100k he and Reeves have accepted for clothes would be better spent on sweaters for the elderly!!

The justification by Labour that the PM’s wife needs to ‘look the part’ is shameless.

According to the press, the Starmers are worth £8m, they can afford to buy their own clothes.

No one expects Victoria Starmer to dress like the independently rich Akshata Murty.

Pigs at the trough about sums it up.

Johnson wasn't brazen so quickly? He gave his mistress Jennifer Acuri thousands in tax payers money for IT lessons. That was way before he became PM. He got sacked by the Telegraphh for making up quotes. Sacked by Michael Howard for lying over an affair.

Exactly my point. We knew BORIS was brazen based on previous behaviour, but even he managed to last more than 12 weeks as PM before sticking his snout so deeply in the trough. Likewise Bliar managed well over a year. Sir Kier however was straight in there!

And I come back to the key point - he said he’d be different. His government would be different. And they’re not. He is the one that took the moral high ground, so he can’t be surprised to be held to account for taking the pi** in such a ruthless, planned and grabby way.

But Boris!

Utter hypocrisy. Starmer getting a free ‘makeover’ - suits, specs. Victoria accepting similar is just as bad. They’ve just shafted pensioners - not a good look is it ? Similarly Rachel Reeves claimed over £4000 in five years for heating allowance at her constituency residence. Four times the WFA she’s just clawed back from pensioners. She was reportedly very apprehensive about opening her utility bills. How does she think the pensioners 50p above the pension credit rate feel ?

I do appreciate the meany right wing press getting involved

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/sep/18/keir-starmer-100000-in-tickets-and-gifts-more-than-any-other-recent-party-leader

The important question is why? Anyone connected the dots yet?

It seems there is a power struggle in the Labour Party.

It's worrying, because Starmer is more moderate and if he loses then it won't be pretty.

Is there? Between whom

Not yet. But there are a lot of dots to connect with the freebie wardrobe…

I understood the outfit in that picture was a loan - a route several PM’s wives have gone down. A loan doesn’t seem particularly questionable.

Yes.

It was a topical joke.

It is a bit early for a leadership challenge? Who do you think might challenge him?

Jas Athwal.

Haha. Very droll.

It's widely reported that McSweeney and Gray are in a power struggle over the boundries of their respective remits, and that Rayner and Starmer have a fractious relationship. Though, we are only 12 weeks so take with a pinch of salt I think. But, not all is sweetness and light for sure

I do like the outfit though. She looks good.

So would I if I had no scruples about accepting goods for favours @Gilmour15, but I have more integrity.

What favours do you think the lender of that outfit will get apart from a bigger order book?

Access to number 10 premises by Lord Alli @BIossomtoes. Which is dodgy AF. Security protocols be damned.

Unless you are suggesting that access to our highest security government premises should be available for purchase for the price of some specs and a couple of spivvy suits @BIossomtoes which appears to be what has happened here.

Good publicity for British Fashion week and great for the designer. The dresses she wore election week sold out in days.

He is a Labour Peer with the Labour whip for decades.

Who has been given inappropriate access rights above and beyond his contemporaries and entitlement as a result of his “donations” @Gilmour15. Like I said, dodgy AF.