Keir Starmer reopens 'freebie' questions with defiant remarks on £20,000 flat donation

Labour Party conference inflicts final day setback by voting against a cutback on pensioner fuel payments

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer indicated he could continue to accept some gifts from donors, saying it is a matter of judgment for individual MPs. EPA

Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer has reignited debate over Labour Party donors funding his family by blaming his son’s GCSEs for accepting free accommodation in an expensive flat.

Before the July election, Mr Starmer had declared a £20,000 ($26,670) gift from Waheed Alli, a Labour peer and major donor, for accommodation during his son’s exam studies.

But in a series of broadcast interviews on Wednesday, following his speech to the Labour Party annual conference, he said the transition to Downing Street had been “really difficult” for his two children, who were previously raised in north London.

“My boy, 16, was in the middle of his GCSEs. I made him a promise, a promise that he would be able to get to his school, do his exams, without being disturbed,” Mr Starmer told the BBC. “We have lots of journalists outside our house where we live and I'm not complaining about that, that's fine.

“But if you're a 16-year-old trying to do your GCSEs and it's your one chance in life – I promised him we would move somewhere, get out of the house and go somewhere where he could be peacefully studying.”

The accommodation was offered and he accepted it because it was “the right thing to do”, Mr Starmer said. Asked whether he would like to apologise for the row, he told LBC radio: “I'm not going to apologise for not doing anything wrong.”

Hopes for a victory lap conference for a leader whose party won 400-plus seats in the elections were dashed on Wednesday by a backlash on the conference floor.

The row over declarations threatened to overshadow the event in Liverpool with ministers criticised for accepting luxury gifts from wealthy donors at the same time as a cut to the £300 winter fuel allowance for many pensioners was announced.

Mr Starmer had hoped to defeat a motion that symbolically rebuked the leadership for withdrawing the annual bonus payment for winter fuel costs for all but the poorest elderly. A trade union-led revolt instead put his leadership on notice from the rank and file.

The Unite union won a non-binding vote at the conference that the fuel allowance cut should be reversed.

The 2024 Labour Party conference – in pictures

Labour insiders have raised questions about how the whole issue of “freebies” has been handled after it emerged the Prime Minister had accepted £100,000 of gifts from clothing to glasses and football tickets.

Others were puzzled, saying that they thought the “freebie” issue had been “put to bed but now it’s back in the open”.

“I know Keir is being honest and direct about why he accepted these payments but it still doesn’t do him any favours,” said a Labour source. “He’s had a good conference, been really direct with people about the tough choices ahead, but I’m not sure this ‘freebie’ business has been handled well from a communications aspect.”

Mr Starmer has also said ministers will no longer take donations for clothing while in government, although he did not include donations such as concert or football match tickets and said accepting them was “a matter of judgment” for politicians.

A survey by pollster YouGov, found only 8 per cent of the British population think it was acceptable for Labour figures to take donations, with 51 per cent saying they were wrong to accept such offers, even though they were within the rules.

Another 29 per cent said it was OK because rules were not broken but those rules should be changed to prohibit these kinds of donations.

Meanwhile, Mr Starmer has been forced to answer questions following reports of tension between his chief of staff Sue Gray and senior officials.

Last week, it was leaked that she is now being paid more than Mr Starmer. Asked if he would get rid of the people in government leaking information to the media, or Ms Gray, he refused to discuss individual members of staff, saying they should not "be the subject of public debate". He added that leaked information about Ms Gray was "not helpful to the government".

"My focus is on what we need to do as a government to change the country for the better. It's my job to deal with briefings and I take responsibility for that."