Cutting benefits while Cabinet ministers on high salaries justify Sir Keir Starmer’s decision to accept free gifts will make voters question Labour’s values, a rebel MP has warned.
Former shadow chancellor John McDonnell, who rebelled against the Government’s winter fuel cut for pensioners and decision to keep the two-child benefit cap, said it was “unfathomable” that Cabinet ministers were defending the PM for accepting more than £100,000 worth of donated gifts when he was leader of the opposition.
He argued that the Government must move to restrict some of the benefits handed to MPs.
He has argued that he declared all the donations in the appropriate way and has not broken any rules.
Government ministers have backed up the PM, with Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds saying he had “no objection” to politicians being able to accept freebies as long as they are declared.
But Mr McDonnell said the revelations do not sit well with messages from the Government that tough spending decisions would have to be made due to strained public finances.
He rebelled again in September when he voted against the Government decision to withdraw the winter fuel allowance for all but the poorest pensioners.
“In talking to constituents, people find it unseemly. And it is put into the context of the decisions to refuse to lift the two-child limit and cut the winter fuel allowance – which has caused real questions from my constituents and others about what the Labour Party is about at the moment,” McDonnell told i.
“If we can’t protect the poorest, what is the purpose of the Labour Party? And if those on huge salaries – in comparison with the average person certainly in my constituency – are accepting donations of this kind, then people are beginning to question our values.”
He went on: “Keir Hardie [the founder of the Labour Party] caused uproar in Parliament because he turned up in an ordinary working man’s suit instead of the usual formal dress and he did so because he wanted to make the point that we represent working people.”
Mr McDonnell added: “We – MPs and ministers – are all on very high salaries and people get very angry when they see this sort of behaviour… when ministers are all talking about tough decisions and painful policies coming and possible a new wave of austerity.”
He said he would hope to see “some sort of reset” in Government with lessons learnt to avoid similar rows in future.
Sir Keir told BBC West that his focus was on “delivery, delivery, delivery” when pressed on accusations about him being too willing to accept donations.
Asked how he responded to the criticism, the PM said: “I just sort of step back and ask myself ‘what did people vote for this year in the election?’ And they voted for change.
“It was a big mandate for change. And I am absolutely focused and determined to deliver that change. That’s why we’re taking some of the tough decisions early because I want to fix the foundations, stabilise the economy. And then, on that we can deliver the change that I think people really want to see from the Government.”
Speaking to BBC Northern Ireland, the Prime Minister sidestepped a question about why he doesn’t buy his own suits.
He repeated that what was important was that the rules were followed and declarations were made transparently.
And he told BBC Yorkshire that he accepted Arsenal’s hospitality tickets to save money on additional policing, which would be required if he took his usual seat in the stands.
“I have had a season ticket for many, many years in the stands at Arsenal. I’m a regular attendee but now, for security reasons, I can’t go in the stands and therefore the club have made arrangements for me to watch from elsewhere, it’s as simple as that,” he said.
“I’d love in a way to be in the stands, it’s where I’ve watched I don’t know how many matches, but as you will appreciate once the security advice is you can’t do it or that it costs the taxpayer an absolute fortune to put I don’t know how many police officers in, then we had to make different arrangements and we have.”
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