Keir Starmer has received £76,000 in free gifts including tickets to more than 20 football matches
According to research by the Financial Times, Sir Keir Starmer has received £76,000 in entertainment, clothes and similar freebies from UK donors since the 2019 general election, more than most other parliamentarians.
The Labor leader received “gifts, benefits and hospitality” including concerts, parties, sports games, hotel stays and clothes during the previous parliamentary term, including more than 20 free tickets to watch football matches.
Starmer, who is it? on the way to becoming prime minister After Thursday’s general election, he vowed to “put politics back into public service” after what he described as years of corruption by the Conservative Party.
Members of Parliament must declare gifts, benefits and hospitality from UK sources on the House of Commons’ benefits register. The benefits section of the register groups gifts, such as tickets, with other types of expenses. It does not include international travel.
When asked generally about the use of his freebies on Monday, Starmer said the transparency of the subscription means “everyone. . . can see who donated, how much was donated, so you can make sure there is no conflict of interest, because I will make sure there is no conflict of interest.”
His spokesman declined to comment further.
The FT’s research removed a number of items Starmer listed in that piece, including thousands of pounds donated to his private office, overnight stays during his leadership campaign and freebies enjoyed by his staff.
The most generous grant Starmer revealed was £16,200 of “work clothes” this April from Lord Waheed Alli, a Labor member of the House of Commons and former chairman of the online clothing retailer Asos. Lord Alli also gave Starmer “many pairs of glasses” worth £2,485.
Starmer took out free tickets from a variety of sponsors to see his beloved Arsenal play West Ham, Watford, Spurs, Everton, Brighton, Porto, Manchester City, Manchester United and Crystal Palace – as well as an international match. women’s international at Wembley and the final Euro tournament final in 2021.
In June 2023, Starmer bought four hotel tickets worth £698 to see Coldplay at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, before staying at a hotel thanks to a £937 donation from businessman Matthew Moulding.
August Starmer, who is married with two children, previously took up a four-person home on the stunning Gower Peninsula in Wales worth £4,500 as a gift from Crownhawk Properties, a company founded by Welsh businessman Rod Lloyd.
Starmer’s other outings include an Adele concert in Hyde Park, a ticket to the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games, a rugby match at Saracens, and four theater tickets. dramatic New at the National Theater and two tickets to the royal box at Wimbledon.
Steve Goodrich, head of research and investigations at Transparency International, said that “MPs should ask themselves why they are being so pampered and what the hidden costs are.” before accepting such gifts”.
The highest declarations in the gifts, benefits and hospitality section of the register in the most recent Parliament were Andrew Bridgen, former Conservative MP who received an interest-free loan of more than £4 million from millionaire Jeremy Hosking to cover his legal costs.
Siobhain McDonagh, a Labor MP, received an interest-free loan of £1.2m from Lord Alli to move house so her sick sister could live with her.
Jeremy Corbyn, the former leader of the Labour Party, has claimed a total of more than £600,000 in legal costs paid by supporters.
Former prime ministers Theresa May and Liz Truss claimed £249,000 and £47,000 from Gatwick and Heathrow airports respectively. As former government leaders, airports automatically upgrade both to use VIP suites.
Boris Johnson claimed gifts worth more than £200,000, of which £117,000 was for accommodation for him and his family after he was kicked out of Downing Street.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak, who has been criticized by the Labor Party for his frequent use of private and RAF planes, received more than £140,000 in donations to cover the costs of eight flights. These are not considered personal gifts and are registered in a separate category for “support relating to an MP” because they are for Conservative business travel.
The MP with the closest income to Starmer in terms of entertainment is Laurence Robertson, a Conservative MP who has received more than £40,000 in holidays from the horse racing and betting industry since 2019.
The Betting and Gaming Board, where Robertson used to work, threw a £2,300 party to celebrate his birthday.
Starmer’s relaxed approach to free events contrasts with his two predecessors, who have led Labor in opposition since 2010.
Corbyn, who led the party from 2015 to 2019, has only recorded one benefit worth £476: a trip to the 2017 Glastonbury Festival, where he gave a speech on the Pyramid Stage.
Ed Miliband, who led the Labor Party from 2010 to 2015, carried tickets to various events at the London Olympic and Paralympic Games which he said were “not worth the value on the ticket”.
