Keir Starmer accepted £76,000 of freebies

[nearlylovemyusername]

Keir Starmer accepted £76,000 of freebies including tickets to over 20 football games (ft.com)

Sir Keir Starmer accepted £76,000 worth of entertainment, clothes and similar freebies from UK donors since the 2019 general election, more than almost any other MP, according to research by the Financial Times.

https://www.lemonde.fr/en/m-le-mag/article/2023/01/23/gifts-received-by-british-mps-revealed-to-the-public_6012680_117.html

The Westminster Accounts database has quantified the amount received individually since the end of 2019 by the 650 MPs. Specifically, £17.1 million (€19.3 million), the bulk of which (£15.2 million) has benefited a handful of MPs, mostly Conservatives.

Ooo - that didn't go well did it?

Speaking to reporters at a warehouse in North East Derbyshire, the Labour leader said: “The system is one where if we take any contribution or donation of any sort that is all set out and declared. And that’s what we’ve done properly on my behalf.

“Quite a lot of that was Arsenal hospitality, particularly away games where, as you can appreciate, my desire to go in the stands is not always met with approval by the security teams around me, which inevitably means that I’m in corporate hospitality if I want to see the game.”

So he has done nothing wrong.

He didn't say he wouldn't work at weekends, he said that he wouldn't do regular meetings or go to events on Friday evenings as they are family time. His wife and children are Jewish, so Friday night dinner is very important.

I'm sure if there was a major crisis on a Friday evening he would be available.

It's sadly unsurprising that Tory voters seem horrified that someone from a Jewish household ringfences some family time on a Friday evening. I'm sure that if a prominent Tory said in an interview that they try to keep Sunday mornings/lunchtimes special and didnt routinely work then, the Tories wouldn't bat an eyelid.

I found the dataset,

https://www.tortoisemedia.com/westminster-accounts-explore/

Newspapers seem strangely silent on Boris Johnson's £6.4million of freebies. Kinda puts all the others in the shade.

I'm guessing they're using weaselly words to limit it to only current MPs or something.

@nearlylovemyusername you weren't saying he was like everyone else, you were implying that he was taking freebies in a duplicitous way.

It's his wife's religion that they should eat Friday night dinner together as a family. I'm sure he'll be working hard the rest of the week .

Schooled?

I'm not changing my tone.

I'm saying that those believing in saint Sir Keir will be disappointed at some stage. He's exactly the same as everyone else. And in a few years time there will be same tune about mates, contracts etc

" The highest declarations in the gifts, benefits and hospitality section of the register during the last parliament was Andrew Bridgen, a former Tory MP who received more than £4mn of interest-free loans from millionaire Jeremy Hosking to cover legal expenses.

Siobhain McDonagh, a Labour MP, received an interest-free loan of £1.2mn from Lord Alli to move house to enable her unwell sister to live with her.

Jeremy Corbyn, former Labour leader, made declarations totalling more than £600,000 in relation to legal costs being covered by supporters.

Former prime ministers Theresa May and Liz Truss declared £249,000 and £47,000, respectively, from Gatwick and Heathrow airports. As former heads of government, the airports automatically upgrade both to travel using its VIP suites."

No, this is your interpretation. I didn't say anything, just linked the article

£249,000 for Truss over how many days as PM??!!!

.

How much did Boris Johnson claim over the same period?

I'm saying that those believing in saint Sir Keir will be disappointed at some stage.

The penny drops. This post isn't 'MPs shouldn't take freebies because standards should be high' it's 'see, Keir is as bad as everyone else'. Well no. I don't like Labour or Keir. But to pretend a few tickets to the football is as bad as the venal, self-serving, money-grubbing arseholes in the Tory Party is hilarious. Come on. Really?

All politicians are shit. But the Tories are unfathomably shit.

https://news.sky.com/story/boris-johnson-defended-by-minister-over-holiday-important-pm-gets-family-time-12431258

"I think it's important that people do have an opportunity to be with their families
to have some relaxing, unwinding. But I wouldn't want to overstate the amount of unwinding and relaxing you get to do as prime minister because as I say you are constantly in touch, you are constantly being briefed and you remain in charge of the government."

Tory MP Damien Hinds talking Boris Johnson.

It's happened because people know he'll be next prime minister and that's why it's wrong.

If you get equivalent to your wage in freebies from suppliers or contractors at work... How would that be right?

Poor OP. It is not quite going her way.

MPs shouldn't be allowed all these freebies but at the moment they are so Starmer has done nothing wrong.

It is quite endearing though that most of his freebies seem to have been to watch Arsenal away games rather than accepting donations from dodgy Russians etc.!

Next non-story please!

Same as everyone else?

Because he received donations that are legal and declared them legally?

Riiiiight.

And in a few years time there will be same tune about mates, contracts etc

In all the time Keir Starmer has been in the public eye, holding down hugely responsible jobs he has done nothing of this sort which the Tories/media have been able to find and bring to our attention.

I bet you that there will be none of this. We just think there will as we've been so steeped in Tory sleeze, contracts for mates that now we think it's normal.

Oh I see, you’re a Corbyn supporter then?

know full well you’re a Tory, talk about pot and kettle!

So the best sleaze that the Tories have been able to dig up on Starmer is:

a) he likes to have Friday night dinners with his family; and

b) he has accepted gifts that he is allowed to accept and recorded and declared them in the proper way. Much of the £76K seems to involve his obsession withArsenal.

God what a slimeball he is.

Wow you're really scraping the barrel now, tory bot! No matter how hard they try, they just can't find any actual dirt on starmer so they have to post irrelevant shit like this 😂

Guess what - starmer will still be PM on Friday and I'll think of you as i cast my vote for Labour on Thursday :)

Lord knows I'm not a fan of Keir Starmer but even I can't see anything wrong in what he's doing, if it's all declared and above board.

Slightly envious, yes- I wouldn't mind lots of freebies to the tune of thousands of pounds, but hey ho. That is not my lot in life.

Shock Horror MP receives gifts and declares them in accordance with procedure!

0/10, OP.

It's been the same everywhere I've worked - state and private sectors.

This is probably one of those things where different rules apply for the 1%, and they shouldn't especially for politicians fgs. In my job the most I can be influenced to do via a gift is fairly inconsequential, Kier is now (as an MP) voting on laws and will have even more power as PM.

I'm not even allowed to accept gifts from clients at the end of a contract as a thanks when I will have no future contact with them.

I accept he's done it within the law, but this is the epitome of 'one rule for us another for the plebs'. It simply shouldn't be allowed. The law is for the rich though, so I'm not surprised.

Now if Kier was going to make politicians have to work to the same rules as the rest of us i.e. never accept gifts, that might be enough for me to vote for him. But he won't.

Please do point out the person (or people) who think Starmer is a 'saint'.

Go on. I'll wait.