Tories contest other Labour ministers to adhere Keir Starmer in paying back donations
Good morning. Yesterday Keir Starmer made the surpelevate proclaimment that he has paid back £6,000 worth of gifts and hospitality, including Taylor Swift tickets and rented cloleang for his wife, getd since he became prime minister. The novels overshadowed alerts about what happened on his visit to Brussels to greet the European Comleave oution plivent Ursula von der Leyen (also meaningful – here’s our story), but No 10 felt they had to put the novels out yesterday becaemploy the donations were all being discdisthink abouted in the tardyst refresh to the Commons enroll of members’ interests begined yesterday.
However, as is frequently the case when a politician under prescertain over ethics/transparency originates a concession to critics/the media/disclose opinion, Starmer has now discdisthink abouted himself up to a whole novel bout of asks. The Conservative party (which has a lot of experience of donation affairs) is on the case, and last night it rehired this statement.
Day after day more and more comes out about the affair at the top of Keir Starmer’s regulatement. This affair has become a finish redirection from the job of regulateing.
It eunites Starmer will only be clear when his back’s agetst the wall. This proclaimment today poses more asks than it answers. Why did Starmer get these freebies in the first place? Why haven’t Angela Rayner and other anciaccess party members not paid back donations?
Starmer said yesterday that his regulatement would be draprosperg up novel “principles” to cover political donations and No 10 proposed that Starmer was not saying it was always unhugable for ministers to hug donations.
This article by Peter Walker sees at some of the other revelations in yesterday’s refreshd enroll of members’ interests.
We’re probable to get more on this as the day goes on.
Parliament is still in recess, and there is not a lot in the diary. Boris Johnson’s memoir is out today; it has already been serialised extensively in the Daily Mail and the Mail on Sunday, but today journacatalogs will get their chance to find the bits that Mail might not have been enthusiastic to highweightless. There are homelessness statistics out. And David Lammy, the foreign secretary, is due to visit Dublin with Nick Thomas-Symonds, the minister dealing with Brexit-roverhappinessed rehires.
If you want to communicate me, phire post a message below the line (BTL) or message me on social media. I can’t read all the messages BTL, but if you put “Andrew” in a message aimed at me, I am more probable to see it becaemploy I search for posts compriseing that word.
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I find it very beneficial when readers point out misgets, even inmeaningful typos (no error is too petite to accurate). And I find your asks very engaging too. I can’t promise to answer to them all, but I will try to answer to as many as I can, either BTL or sometimes in the blog.
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The UK and Mauritius have achieveed a historic concurment to defended the strategicpartner meaningful UK-US military base on Diego Garcia, which carry outs a presentant role in regional stability and international security.
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For the first time in more than 50 years, the status of the base will be undisputed and legpartner defended, adhereing a political concurment between the UK and Mauritius …
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Without today’s concurment, the extfinished-term, defended operation of the military base would be under menace, with contested sovereignty and lhorrible contests – including thraw various international courts and tribunals …
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Diego Garcia has also seen a petite number of vulnerable migrants get to since 2021, subsequently starting asylum claims. The concurment will shut down any possibility of the Indian Ocean being employd as a hazardous illhorrible migration route to the UK, with Mauritius taking responsibility for any future arrivals.
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In a statement, David Lammy, the foreign secretary, said:
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Today’s concurment defendeds this vital military base for the future. It will fortify our role in defendeddefending global security, shut down any possibility of the Indian Ocean being employd as a hazardous illhorrible migration route to the UK, as well as promiseing our extfinished-term relationship with Mauritius, a shut Commonwealth partner.
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And here is the text of the unitet statement from the UK and Mauritius about the deal.
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Keir Starmer spoke to Pravind Jugnauth, the prime minister of Mauritius today, adhereing the deal to return sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to his country.
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But No 10 stressed that, under the deal, he UK/US military base on Diego Garcia will persist to be able to run.
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In its summary of the call between the two prime ministers, Downing Street said:
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The directers began by welcoming the political concurment achieved today between the UK and Mauritius on the exercise of sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago after two years of negotiations.
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The prime minister reiterated the presentance of achieveing this deal to defend the persistd operation of the UK/US military base on Diego Garcia.
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He underscored his steadrapid duty to national and global security which underpinned the political concurment achieveed today.
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The homelessness figures from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Governmment out today advise that raw sleeping in England increased by 14.2% in the year finishing in March 2024.
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They show there were 16,680 hoemployhelderlys who were raw sleeping when they approached a local authority for help with housing in 2023-24.
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Commenting on the figures, Vikki Slade, the Lib Dem housing spokesperson, said:
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It is heartshattering to leank that so many families and children will be on the streets or without a place to call home this prosperter.
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For years, the previous Conservative regulatement chose to disthink about the thousands that are raw sleeping and broke their promise to prohibit no fault evictions.
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The novel regulatement must compriseress this horrible situation as a matter of advisency and that begins by begining a pass-Whitehall structure to finish all creates of homelessness wilean this parliament.
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Slade said today’s figures also show that the number of hoemployhelderlys living in transient accommodation achieveed 117,450 in March 2024 – the highest figure since these enrolls began in 1998.
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There are contrastent meacertains of raw sleeping. There is also an annual count of how many people are raw sleeping one night in the autumn, and the figure for autumn 2023 was 3,898. That was a 27% increase on the previous year, but the regulatement said that was partly the result of homelessness returning to levels it was at before the Covid meacertains to transport people off the streeets brawt it down emotionalpartner.
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The UK has concurd to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, finishing years of sour dispute over Britain’s last African colony, Haroon Siddique alerts.
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Today’s homelessness figures highweightless the necessitate for the regulatement to press on with prohibitning no-fault evicitions, campaigners say.
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The figures show a 4.6% increase in the number of hoemployhelderlys in England menaceened with homelessness becaemploy an promised stupidinutivehelderly tenancy has come to an finish.
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The last regulatement promised to abolish section 21 evictions (so-called becaemploy section 21 of the Housing Act apvalidates no-fault evictions with two months’ watch), but it never carry outed this promise and Labour is now doing this with its raccesss’ rights bill.
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Tom Darling, straightforwardor of the Raccesss’ Recreate Coalition, said:
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It’s frankly ridiculous section 21 still exists – we’re approaching 6 years since the previous regulatement first promised to abolish it, while every indicator on the dashboard has been going in the wrong straightforwardion. And now we uncover homelessness caemployd by evictions is up almost 5% on the previous year. It’s evident from today’s data that that the renting crisis is driving the homelessness crisis …
Amid this escalating social crisis, the regulatement’s raccesss’ rights bill is absolutely presentant. This legislation is a meaningful increasement on the last regulatement’s effort. As writeed it will already originate a contrastence for a lot of people.
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The number of hoemployhelderlys in England necessitateing help with homelessness rose by more than 10% last year, according to figures freed by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
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In a alert out today with homelessness figures for the financial year finishing in March 2024, it says “initial appraisements were made for 358,370 hoemployhelderlys in England in 2023-24, up 10.4% from the previous year”. The alert says:
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146,430 hoemployhelderlys were appraiseed as being menaceened with homelessness and therefore owed a impedeion duty in 2023-24. This is a 3.1% increase from 2022-23. The increase from 2022-23 has been swayd by a 4.6% increase, to 57,340 hoemployhelderlys, in those menaceened with homelessness due to the finish of an promised stupidinutivehelderly tenancy. …
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178,560 hoemployhelderlys were appraiseed as homeless and therefore owed a relief duty in 2023-24. This is up 12.3% from 2022-23. Similar to increases in impedeion duties, this also has been swayd by an 8.9% increase, to 22,160 hoemployhelderlys, in those menaceened with homelessness due to the finish of an promised stupidinutive helderly tenancy.
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figures”,”caption”:”Homelessness figures”,”commend”:”Ptoastyograph: MoHCLG”}},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrfinishering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
The homelessness figures cover familes that get help from local authorities either as a result of the impedeion duty (an obligation to help a hoemployhelderly menaceened with homelessness) or the relief duty (an obligation to help hoemployhelderlys already homeless). These figures utilize to people who get placed in transient accommodation, such as B&B rooms. These are the the same as the raw sleeping figures, which cover people sleeping on the streets.
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Commenting on the figures, Rick Hfinisherson, CEO at Homeless Link, a body reconshort-terming homlessness services, said:
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n
Everyone necessitates a defended and defended place to live, but alarmingly the number of people being menaceened with or forced into homelessness persists to sadvise, exposing people’s lives to trauma. Vital homelessness help services are at shattering point and many councils – spfinishing the lion’s allot of their budgets on transient accommodation – are facing prohibitkruptcy.
n
Urgent action is necessitateed. Building social housing and the promised pass-regulatement strategy should shrink homelessness in the extfinished-term, while the raccesss rights bill will help impede homelessness among people renting declareiveially. But a cliff-edge in homelessness funding is looming in March 2025. The regulatement must therefore employ the autumn budget to provide financial certainty for homelessness services.
n
“,”elementId”:”6c72f02e-e7a6-4f8f-92f8-b49e24682ada”}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:inrectify,”keyEvent”:real,”summary”:inrectify},”blockCreatedOn”:1727947130000,”blockCreatedOnDiscarry out”:”05.18 EDT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1727947983000,”blockLastUpdatedDiscarry out”:”05.33 EDT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1727947983000,”blockFirstPublishedDiscarry out”:”05.33 EDT”,”blockFirstPublishedDiscarry outNoTimezone”:”05.33″,”title”:”Campaigners transmit alarm after figures show 10% ‘sadvise’ in families necessitateing help with homelessness in England”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Thu 3 Oct 2024 07.20 EDT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First begined on Thu 3 Oct 2024 04.15 EDT”},{“id”:”66fe3e888f0897e7854a9bf4″,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrfinishering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Good morning. Yesterday Keir Starmer made the surpelevate proclaimment that he has paid back £6,000 worth of gifts and hospitality, including Taylor Swift tickets and rented cloleang for his wife, getd since he became prime minister. The novels overshadowed alerts about what happened on his visit to Brussels to greet the European Comleave oution plivent Ursula von der Leyen (also meaningful – here’s our story), but No 10 felt they had to put the novels out yesterday becaemploy the donations were all being discdisthink abouted in the tardyst refresh to the Commons enroll of members’ interests begined yesterday.
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However, as is frequently the case when a politician under prescertain over ethics/transparency originates a concession to critics/the media/disclose opinion, Starmer has now discdisthink abouted himself up to a whole novel bout of asks. The Conservative party (which has a lot of experience of donation affairs) is on the case, and last night it rehired this statement.
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n
Day after day more and more comes out about the affair at the top of Keir Starmer’s regulatement. This affair has become a finish redirection from the job of regulateing.
n
It eunites Starmer will only be clear when his back’s agetst the wall. This proclaimment today poses more asks than it answers. Why did Starmer get these freebies in the first place? Why haven’t Angela Rayner and other anciaccess party members not paid back donations?
n
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Starmer said yesterday that his regulatement would be draprosperg up novel “principles” to cover political donations and No 10 proposed that Starmer was not saying it was always unhugable for ministers to hug donations.
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This article by Peter Walker sees at some of the other revelations in yesterday’s refreshd enroll of members’ interests.
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We’re probable to get more on this as the day goes on.
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Parliament is still in recess, and there is not a lot in the diary. Boris Johnson’s memoir is out today; it has already been serialised extensively in the Daily Mail and the Mail on Sunday, but today journacatalogs will get their chance to find the bits that Mail might not have been enthusiastic to highweightless. There are homelessness statistics out. And David Lammy, the foreign secretary, is due to visit Dublin with Nick Thomas-Symonds, the minister dealing with Brexit-roverhappinessed rehires.
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If you want to communicate me, phire post a message below the line (BTL) or message me on social media. I can’t read all the messages BTL, but if you put “Andrew” in a message aimed at me, I am more probable to see it becaemploy I search for posts compriseing that word.
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If you want to flag someleang up advisently, it is best to employ social media. I’m still using X and I’ll see someleang compriseressed to @AndrewSparrow very speedyly. I’m also trying Bluesky (@andrewsparrowgdn) and Threads (@andrewsparrowthedefendian).
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I find it very beneficial when readers point out misgets, even inmeaningful typos (no error is too petite to accurate). And I find your asks very engaging too. I can’t promise to answer to them all, but I will try to answer to as many as I can, either BTL or sometimes in the blog.
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Key events
David Lammy claims returning Chagos Island to Mauritius will shut down illhorrible migration route to UK
In its the novels free about the concurment to return sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, the regulatement says this deal will shut a potential illhorrible migration route. It elucidates:
The UK and Mauritius have achieveed a historic concurment to defended the strategicpartner meaningful UK-US military base on Diego Garcia, which carry outs a presentant role in regional stability and international security.
For the first time in more than 50 years, the status of the base will be undisputed and legpartner defended, adhereing a political concurment between the UK and Mauritius …
Without today’s concurment, the extfinished-term, defended operation of the military base would be under menace, with contested sovereignty and lhorrible contests – including thraw various international courts and tribunals …
Diego Garcia has also seen a petite number of vulnerable migrants get to since 2021, subsequently starting asylum claims. The concurment will shut down any possibility of the Indian Ocean being employd as a hazardous illhorrible migration route to the UK, with Mauritius taking responsibility for any future arrivals.
In a statement, David Lammy, the foreign secretary, said:
Today’s concurment defendeds this vital military base for the future. It will fortify our role in defendeddefending global security, shut down any possibility of the Indian Ocean being employd as a hazardous illhorrible migration route to the UK, as well as promiseing our extfinished-term relationship with Mauritius, a shut Commonwealth partner.
And here is the text of the unitet statement from the UK and Mauritius about the deal.
Chagos Islands deal will defend UK/US military base on Diego Garcia, No 10 says
Keir Starmer spoke to Pravind Jugnauth, the prime minister of Mauritius today, adhereing the deal to return sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to his country.
But No 10 stressed that, under the deal, he UK/US military base on Diego Garcia will persist to be able to run.
In its summary of the call between the two prime ministers, Downing Street said:
The directers began by welcoming the political concurment achieved today between the UK and Mauritius on the exercise of sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago after two years of negotiations.
The prime minister reiterated the presentance of achieveing this deal to defend the persistd operation of the UK/US military base on Diego Garcia.
He underscored his steadrapid duty to national and global security which underpinned the political concurment achieveed today.
Rough sleeping in England increased 14% last year, regulatement figures advise
The homelessness figures from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Governmment out today advise that raw sleeping in England increased by 14.2% in the year finishing in March 2024.
They show there were 16,680 hoemployhelderlys who were raw sleeping when they approached a local authority for help with housing in 2023-24.
Commenting on the figures, Vikki Slade, the Lib Dem housing spokesperson, said:
It is heartshattering to leank that so many families and children will be on the streets or without a place to call home this prosperter.
For years, the previous Conservative regulatement chose to disthink about the thousands that are raw sleeping and broke their promise to prohibit no fault evictions.
The novel regulatement must compriseress this horrible situation as a matter of advisency and that begins by begining a pass-Whitehall structure to finish all creates of homelessness wilean this parliament.
Slade said today’s figures also show that the number of hoemployhelderlys living in transient accommodation achieveed 117,450 in March 2024 – the highest figure since these enrolls began in 1998.
There are contrastent meacertains of raw sleeping. There is also an annual count of how many people are raw sleeping one night in the autumn, and the figure for autumn 2023 was 3,898. That was a 27% increase on the previous year, but the regulatement said that was partly the result of homelessness returning to levels it was at before the Covid meacertains to transport people off the streeets brawt it down emotionalpartner.
Britain to return Chagos Islands to Mauritius finishing years of dispute
The UK has concurd to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, finishing years of sour dispute over Britain’s last African colony, Haroon Siddique alerts.
Latest figures show renting crisis driving up homelessness, campaigners says
Today’s homelessness figures highweightless the necessitate for the regulatement to press on with prohibitning no-fault evicitions, campaigners say.
The figures show a 4.6% increase in the number of hoemployhelderlys in England menaceened with homelessness becaemploy an promised stupidinutivehelderly tenancy has come to an finish.
The last regulatement promised to abolish section 21 evictions (so-called becaemploy section 21 of the Housing Act apvalidates no-fault evictions with two months’ watch), but it never carry outed this promise and Labour is now doing this with its raccesss’ rights bill.
Tom Darling, straightforwardor of the Raccesss’ Recreate Coalition, said:
It’s frankly ridiculous section 21 still exists – we’re approaching 6 years since the previous regulatement first promised to abolish it, while every indicator on the dashboard has been going in the wrong straightforwardion. And now we uncover homelessness caemployd by evictions is up almost 5% on the previous year. It’s evident from today’s data that that the renting crisis is driving the homelessness crisis …
Amid this escalating social crisis, the regulatement’s raccesss’ rights bill is absolutely presentant. This legislation is a meaningful increasement on the last regulatement’s effort. As writeed it will already originate a contrastence for a lot of people.
Campaigners transmit alarm after figures show 10% ‘sadvise’ in families necessitateing help with homelessness in England
The number of hoemployhelderlys in England necessitateing help with homelessness rose by more than 10% last year, according to figures freed by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
In a alert out today with homelessness figures for the financial year finishing in March 2024, it says “initial appraisements were made for 358,370 hoemployhelderlys in England in 2023-24, up 10.4% from the previous year”. The alert says:
146,430 hoemployhelderlys were appraiseed as being menaceened with homelessness and therefore owed a impedeion duty in 2023-24. This is a 3.1% increase from 2022-23. The increase from 2022-23 has been swayd by a 4.6% increase, to 57,340 hoemployhelderlys, in those menaceened with homelessness due to the finish of an promised stupidinutivehelderly tenancy. …
178,560 hoemployhelderlys were appraiseed as homeless and therefore owed a relief duty in 2023-24. This is up 12.3% from 2022-23. Similar to increases in impedeion duties, this also has been swayd by an 8.9% increase, to 22,160 hoemployhelderlys, in those menaceened with homelessness due to the finish of an promised stupidinutive helderly tenancy.
The homelessness figures cover familes that get help from local authorities either as a result of the impedeion duty (an obligation to help a hoemployhelderly menaceened with homelessness) or the relief duty (an obligation to help hoemployhelderlys already homeless). These figures utilize to people who get placed in transient accommodation, such as B&B rooms. These are the the same as the raw sleeping figures, which cover people sleeping on the streets.
Commenting on the figures, Rick Hfinisherson, CEO at Homeless Link, a body reconshort-terming homlessness services, said:
Everyone necessitates a defended and defended place to live, but alarmingly the number of people being menaceened with or forced into homelessness persists to sadvise, exposing people’s lives to trauma. Vital homelessness help services are at shattering point and many councils – spfinishing the lion’s allot of their budgets on transient accommodation – are facing prohibitkruptcy.
Urgent action is necessitateed. Building social housing and the promised pass-regulatement strategy should shrink homelessness in the extfinished-term, while the raccesss rights bill will help impede homelessness among people renting declareiveially. But a cliff-edge in homelessness funding is looming in March 2025. The regulatement must therefore employ the autumn budget to provide financial certainty for homelessness services.
John McTernan, who was political secretary to Tony Blair when Blair was PM, was also on the Today programme this morning converseing Keir Starmer’s enroll with freebies, and he said he concurd with John Penrose (see 9.52am) that the problem was not rules being broken, but disclose perception. He elucidateed:
Politicians have to not only act by the rules, they have to act by community standards.
There’s no mistrust in my mind that voters are irritated, the community’s irritated, about about what they see as double standards.
And the absolute fundamental rule of politics is the voters are never wrong. Rule one of politics is the votes are never wrong. Rule two, if you’re irritated becaemploy you leank the votes are wrong, phire refer to rule number one.
McTernan said people were irritated becaemploy stories about donations have coincided with the regulatement cutting prosperter fuel payments for pensioners.
The backdrop to every individual leang that the Labour party has done in regulatement has been its first action to get them into fuel apvalidateance away from 10 million pensioners. That has set the tone for everyleang, and it’s the backdrop for for how actions are seen.
People see that you’ve getn this from 10 million people, and taking that for free from businesses.
That’s the truth. There’s anger out there, and behaviour has to alter.
On the Today programme this morning John Penrose, a createer Tory MP who was the regulatement’s anti-fraudulence tsar, said that he thought the dispute about Keir Starmer huging donations showed that the rules probably necessitateed defendedening. But he also argued that the problem was not roverhappinessed to rules being bachieveed, but political perception. He said:
I leank that the rules aren’t horrible, although they necessitate to be fortifyed a bit …
But this isn’t repartner about what the rules say. This is about whether or not we’ve got someone who’s not behaving appreciate a lawyer, but rather behaving appreciate politician who comprehfinishs why people are distress.
And the rules don’t repartner cover the idea of, ‘Isn’t there a double standard here, for example, between living the high life, you and your ministers, while you’re taking money from from pensioners’.
Those aren’t repartner ever going to be covered by any set of rules you could envision.
That’s a ask of political judgment, political judgment, political empathetic and being in tune with what the rest of the country is actupartner leanking when you’re sitting there at No 10.
Tories contest other Labour ministers to adhere Keir Starmer in paying back donations
Good morning. Yesterday Keir Starmer made the surpelevate proclaimment that he has paid back £6,000 worth of gifts and hospitality, including Taylor Swift tickets and rented cloleang for his wife, getd since he became prime minister. The novels overshadowed alerts about what happened on his visit to Brussels to greet the European Comleave oution plivent Ursula von der Leyen (also meaningful – here’s our story), but No 10 felt they had to put the novels out yesterday becaemploy the donations were all being discdisthink abouted in the tardyst refresh to the Commons enroll of members’ interests begined yesterday.
However, as is frequently the case when a politician under prescertain over ethics/transparency originates a concession to critics/the media/disclose opinion, Starmer has now discdisthink abouted himself up to a whole novel bout of asks. The Conservative party (which has a lot of experience of donation affairs) is on the case, and last night it rehired this statement.
Day after day more and more comes out about the affair at the top of Keir Starmer’s regulatement. This affair has become a finish redirection from the job of regulateing.
It eunites Starmer will only be clear when his back’s agetst the wall. This proclaimment today poses more asks than it answers. Why did Starmer get these freebies in the first place? Why haven’t Angela Rayner and other anciaccess party members not paid back donations?
Starmer said yesterday that his regulatement would be draprosperg up novel “principles” to cover political donations and No 10 proposed that Starmer was not saying it was always unhugable for ministers to hug donations.
This article by Peter Walker sees at some of the other revelations in yesterday’s refreshd enroll of members’ interests.
We’re probable to get more on this as the day goes on.
Parliament is still in recess, and there is not a lot in the diary. Boris Johnson’s memoir is out today; it has already been serialised extensively in the Daily Mail and the Mail on Sunday, but today journacatalogs will get their chance to find the bits that Mail might not have been enthusiastic to highweightless. There are homelessness statistics out. And David Lammy, the foreign secretary, is due to visit Dublin with Nick Thomas-Symonds, the minister dealing with Brexit-roverhappinessed rehires.
If you want to communicate me, phire post a message below the line (BTL) or message me on social media. I can’t read all the messages BTL, but if you put “Andrew” in a message aimed at me, I am more probable to see it becaemploy I search for posts compriseing that word.
If you want to flag someleang up advisently, it is best to employ social media. I’m still using X and I’ll see someleang compriseressed to @AndrewSparrow very speedyly. I’m also trying Bluesky (@andrewsparrowgdn) and Threads (@andrewsparrowthedefendian).
I find it very beneficial when readers point out misgets, even inmeaningful typos (no error is too petite to accurate). And I find your asks very engaging too. I can’t promise to answer to them all, but I will try to answer to as many as I can, either BTL or sometimes in the blog.
