A Labor MP has quit the party over the freebies scandal, accusing Sir Keir Starmer of presiding over “sleaze, cronyism and blatant greed”.
Canterbury MP Rosie Duffield resigned from her post and told Sir Keir she was “ashamed” of what he and his “inner circle” had done to “tarnish and humiliate our once proud party”.
He declared himself unfit for office after “inexplicably” choosing to accept designer clothes while pursuing “draconian and unnecessary” policies.
The dramatic resignation threw Downing Street into turmoil on Saturday night and comes as Sir Keir faces mounting pressure from within his own party to get the donations crisis under control.
In her resignation letter to the Prime Minister, Ms Duffield said: “Someone of well-above-average wealth inexplicably accepts expensive personal gifts such as designer suits and glasses, while choosing to maintain the Conservatives’ two-child limit on benefit payments that pushes children into poverty beyond the understanding of most of these people.” it costs more; This is absolutely undeserving of the title of Labor prime minister.
“Forcing people to vote [on the winter fuel payment] While you and your favorite colleagues enjoy free family trips to events for which most people would have to shell out big bucks, leaving many older people sick and cold – why not show even the slightest embarrassment?
Ms Duffield, 53, has been a consistent critic of the party’s approach to transgender issues and has not attended previous party conferences on the issue.
He became the fastest MP to leave after a general election in modern political history.
It comes after Sir Keir admitted on Friday that Lord Alli had given him £32,000 towards the cost of the suit – double the figure he had previously declared.
Sir Keir also received £2,400 from Lord Alli for glasses and the use of an £18 million penthouse during the election campaign and on other occasions. Members of the preliminary team also announced large donations from their peers.
A frontbench source warned on Saturday night that Downing Street needed to change course, saying “it’s getting to the point where it could be fatal”.
“If you keep explaining, you are losing. It looks like you’re doing something dangerous,” they told The Telegraph. “Keir needs to be absolutely honest and draw a line under that.”
A growing number of Labor MPs, as well as members of Sir Keir’s cabinet, are understood to be disappointed by the row; one of them complains that ministers should be more “political”.
Cabinet ministers who are not caught up in the ongoing free stuff saga are trying to distance themselves from the situation by highlighting how modestly they dress in private and how little they care about designer clothes.
Some members of Labour’s donors’ club, the Rose Network, are said to be unhappy with the direction of No10; A long-time donor has described Sir Keir’s decision to accept so many designer clothes as donations as “completely obscene”. .
Members of Labour’s powerful ruling body, the National Executive Committee (NEC), are also angry at the party’s handling of the debate.
NEC member Mish Rahman said Labor’s first conference since winning the election “should have been one of joy and celebration, but instead it was sidetracked by talk of spending cuts and questionable donations”. He added: “The honeymoon is over in record time and uneasiness is spreading.”
A second NEC member told The Telegraph that the apparent “free-rider fight” was “pretty embarrassing”.
“We have been waiting for a long time to come to power, but it feels like the moment we come to power, a fight for freebies will begin,” they said. “The strategy on this issue was so poor that they failed to address it.”
Other ministers are concerned about negative rhetoric from Downing Street and the Treasury, especially as the Budget approaches on 30 October. “The budget will be painful,” one minister said. “But we can’t continue with this doom and gloom forever.”
Meanwhile, tensions remain with Sir Keir’s chief of staff Sue Gray and Government aides are locked in negotiations with Downing Street over their pay, with many being offered pay cuts compared to what they earned in opposition.
Some special advisers are now threatening to resign; One source states that working in the government is much harder than they thought, and they can make much more money in the private sector.
Another confirmed that some top aides had raised the possibility of quitting, but said it was more of a negotiating tactic to increase pay.
Sir Keir last week said he would no longer accept money for clothes while in office, as did Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Deputy Chancellor Angela Rayner.
Labor claimed that all opposition parties had invested in the presentation of candidates, including photography and clothing, as well as speech and media training.
But on Saturday, Shadow Paymaster John Glen reported Sir Keir to the parliamentary commissioner for standards and the registrar of members’ financial interests, demanding a new investigation.
In a letter to the standards watchdog, Mr Glen claimed Sir Keir had failed to disclose who was behind the salaries of 14 of his aides ahead of the election, and also raised questions about possible failures to declare hospitality and gifts from lobbyists.
Under House of Commons rules, all MPs must ensure that anyone holding a parliamentary pass as part of their duties declares who pays their salary and any other income they receive from the same source above £450.
But Mr Glen points out that Sir Keir’s benefits records, published on May 30, do not list any source of income for his 14 aides.
In his letter to the commissioner, Mr Glen said: “There is a clear public interest in ensuring that most senior Parliamentarians comply with the rules and that there is appropriate transparency regarding the corporate finances of Keir Starmer’s Parliamentary Office and any related gifts or hospitality. . “This is also not his first violation of the rules.”
‘Lack of basic politics and political instinct’
In her resignation letter, which was first reported by The Sunday Times, Ms Duffield criticized the Prime Minister’s “management style and technocratic approach”, saying his “lack of basic politics and political instincts has come down on us as a party”.
He said the revelation of “hypocrisy” was “shocking and increasingly outrageous”, adding: “Words cannot express how angry I and my colleagues are at your lack of understanding of how you portray us all.”
A Labor source said: “This changing Labor Party will not learn from a Conservative Party that specializes in scandal, immorality and corruption year after year.
“Under Keir Starmer’s leadership, this Government is more transparent than ever and gets on with the job of delivering the change the country voted for on July 4.”