‘Don’t compare Keir to Boris’ pleads minister as Diane Abbott accuses PM of being ‘in pocket of millionaires’
Diane Abbott has accused Keir Starmer of being “in the pocket of millionaires” as senior party insiders fear that Labour is being put on trial over the freebies saga.
The claim by the veteran leftwing Labour MP, who Sir Keir’s allies attempted to block from standing in the recent election, has come amid growing unease over the influence of Lord Waheed Alli and the £107,000 of gifts received by the prime minister since 2019.
The row is threatening to derail what should be a triumphant Labour conference in Liverpool in the wake of the election victory in July.
Already comparisons are being drawn with disgraced former Tory prime minister Boris Johnson. Ministers have privately admitted to The Independent that the comparisons are a concern.
But cabinet minister Ellie Reeves, the party chair, has pleaded in an exclusive interview with The Independent for Sir Keir not to be compared to Mr Johnson.
She said: “You can’t really compare Keir to Boris in terms of the rule breaking and everything else like that.
“Keir has declared the gifts and the donations and it’s important there are systems in place so there is that transparency.”
But after Labour’s attack on the former prime minister asking donors to help wallpaper Downing Street, there are claims that Sir Keir and his top team are being hypocritical.
With free tickets to football matches and Taylor Swift concerts in the portfolio of gifts received by the prime minister as well as designer glasses, a tirade of anger has been directed at Sir Keir with another cabinet minister issuing a warning.
Culture secretary and former leadership candidate Lisa Nandy said: “Labour leaders need to show they do not lead different lives to the public.”
Even Labour Together – the pro Sir Keir group that got him elected leader – has warned that “Labour is on trial” with voters as Sir Keir’s ratings have taken a hit in the polls less than three months after winning power.
One issue has been Sir Keir accepting a box for Arsenal’s home matches because he can no longer use his season tickets on the terraces.
Ms Reeves defended the prime minister: “The tickets for Arsenal, for example. If he was to go sit in the stands, I think the cost, in terms of having all of the personal protection officers there was, ends up being far more than him being in this box.”
Some have raised Sir Keir’s decision, along with chancellor Rachel Reeves, to withdraw winter fuel allowance from 10 million pensioners – putting thousands at risk of dying from the cold this winter according to Labour’s own research.
It has also been noted that while Sir Keir has taken an austere approach to people’s private lives in wanting to ban people smoking in beer gardens, he appears to be ready to accept gifts for major events.
Political opponents are circling, with Nigel Farage joking on stage at the Reform UK conference in Birmingham that he had paid for his glasses.
The controversy blew up after it emerged that Lord Alli, a close friend of Sir Keir’s controversial chief of staff, Sue Gray, had paid £5,000 for clothes for his wife Victoria. He also gave £20,000 for accommodation for Sir Keir while he was campaigning.
In total, seven cabinet ministers have benefited from Lord Alli’s generosity and he was handed a temporary security pass to enter Downing Street after the election victory. While the pass is no longer available to him it has been claimed that Lord Alli still attends cabinet meetings even though he is not a minister.
On Lord Alli, Ms Reeves said: “Waheed has been a Labour peer for 20 years. He’s highly respected, both within the party and across parties.
