Speaking at Labour’s conference, the RMT’s general secretary taunted the prime minister for accepting more than £100,000 worth of gifts.
Sir Keir Starmer has come under scrutiny for accepting £107,145 worth of gifts since 2019, making him the MP who has received the highest value of freebies and hospitality. His acceptance of various gifts, particularly football tickets and clothing, has sparked concern, leaving questions over a potential conflict of interest.
On Friday, Starmer, along with Rachel Reeves and Angela Rayner, announced that they would stop accepting clothing from donors. This came after Lord Alli, the former chairman of online fashion giant Asos, paid for new outfits, accessories, and alterations for government officials and Starmer’s wife. Overall, the prime minister has accepted gifts totalling £39,122 from Lord Alli.
Speaking on a panel at Labour’s conference in Liverpool, Mick Lynch joked, “There’s lots on the news this morning, and there was a lot of people making declarations about all of their interests… So I’ve got to make a public declaration: all of my clothes are from my wife. And she gives a full consultation with my personal designers: Marks and Spencers. On the table, everything is under £49.99.”
Unite general secreatry Sharon Graham told Sky News the government is “definitely making the wrong choices” over accepting gifts and hospitality. She added Labour “needs to listen to what people are saying. Good people who want Labour to do well are finding it, quite frankly, embarrassing.”
Earlier today, the RMT boss also said unions are prepared to go on strike under this new Labour government, telling the conference: “Under previous Labour governments, NUR and Aslef members took on very heavy periods of industrial action to get what they needed from those governments… That will happen again in the future.”
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