Angela Rayner arriving at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool (Image: PA )
Speaking at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool today the Deputy Prime Minister shed tears of joy as she spoke to party faithful about how she intends to “fix” the Right to Buy housing scheme and make it a “fair system” for taxpayers and tenant.
But away from the adulation of the conference delegates, the Cabinet Minister has faced mounting pressure over her use of a plush US residence let to her by Labour peer and donor Lord Waheed Alli.
Ms Rayner, who denies breaking Commons rules over declaring a stay, said she understood that people were “frustrated” about the emerging donations and gifts stories swirling around top Labour figures, but insisted donations, gifts, and hospitality had been “a feature of our politics for a very long time”.
Now the Telegraph reports that the Conservatives have written to Daniel Greenberg, the parliamentary commissioner for standards, seeking an investigation into Ms Rayner’s use of the swanky New York pad.
Rachel Reeves, Sir Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner have all faced tough questions over donations (Image: Getty )
The publication says the letter claims Ms Rayner has breached the House of Commons’ code of conduct becasue of a “failure to properly register” usage of the flat. It’s reported Ms Rayner shared the flat with former Labour MP Sam Tarry during New Year, but that he was not named on a the parliamentary declaration.
Speaking to BBC One’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Ms Rayner said: “I think I followed the rules.
“I get that people are frustrated, in particular the circumstances that we’re in, but donations for gifts and hospitality and monetary donations have been a feature of our politics for a very long time.
“People can look it up and see what people have had donations for, and the transparency is really important.”
Lord Alli is not accused of any wrongdoing, and Ms Rayner denies any rule breach and says the trip was a personal holiday.
Angela Rayner could still face more questions over her use of a New York apartment (Image: Getty )
Questions over Ms Rayner’s acceptance of donations comes as both the Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer have faced pressure over their own willingness to accept gifts, including clothes and designer glasses.
During the election campaign, Sir Keir declared £12,588 in gifts ranging from four Taylor Swift tickets worth £4,000, to Euros final tickets valued at £1,628, and several Arsenal FC match tickets exceeding £6,000 in total.
It has also emerged his Chief of Staff, Sue Gray, is being paid £3,000 more than him, with a wage of £170,000.
Andrew Bowie, the Tory shadow veterans minister, told The Telegraph: “Labour’s hypocrisy is off the scale. They spent years taking the moral high ground and now they’re excusing their freeloading as the done thing.”
According to the newspaper, Ms Rayner did declare to parliamentary authorities the use of Lord Alli’s apartment in Manhattan from December 29, 2023, to January 2, 2024.
However, it’s reported Mr Tarry, then Ilford South MP, was not detailed publicly.
According to the rules, MPs must declare foreign trips which they, or anyone connected to them, undertake if a donor pays for “part or all” of it as a result of “parliamentary or political activities”.
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Bridget Phillipson looks set to implode as she’s asked about Taylor Swift freebie
Bridget Phillipson looked as if she was about to implode while being quizzed about her accepting free tickets to a Taylor Swift concert.
The Education Secretary squirmed and at times appeared to smirk as she sought to shake off taking the freebie to see the winger superstar at Wembley on August 15. The tickets were declared as worth £522.54.
Ms Phillipson, who it is understood is paid a six-figure salary, said: “I’ll be honest – it was a hard one to turn down.
“I appreciate there was big demand for the tickets. It was a privilege to be there.”
She then told ITV News: “One of my children was keen to go along. It’s hard to say no if you’re offered tickets in those circumstances.
“But it was declared. I’ve been clear about that, but I do recognise that I’m in a fortunate position to be able to receive it.”
Bridget Phillipson accepted freebie tickets to see Taylor Swift at Wembley (Image: Getty/ITV News)
This latest attempt to defend herself comes after the Education Secretary sought to defend using money from Labour peer Lord Waheed Alli to fund a reception to mark her 40th birthday, saying it was “in a work context” with guests including journalists and trade unionists and “education people”.
The row over Labour MPs’ freebies from wealthy donors is threatening to overshadow the party’s annual conference in Liverpool. Left-wing MP Diane Abbott, who only recently had the whip restored by the party, claimed on Saturday that Labour “is in the pocket of millionaires”.
Ms Phillipson’s tickets for the Taylor Swift concert sparked further fury online, with social media users enraged by the revelation. X account Stats for Lefties commented: “You earn £150,000+ a year. Just pay for your own tickets.”
Fellow X user Stay Alert wrote: “There is no such thing as a free lunch so why are MPs putting themselves in a position where they may be beholden to givers of gifts?”
A third X user tweeting from an account named je chimed in: “‘Hard one to turn down… one of my children was keen to go’ she says. In that case, you should have joined the queue for tickets like other people. Snouts in the tough like most politicians. @UKLabour hypocrisy.”
The donations row is overshadowing Labour’s annual party conferene in Liverpool (Image: Getty)
Another sought to defend the senior MP, writing: “I would have accepted the tickets if offered. Free Taylor Swift tickets doesn’t hurt the taxpayer. [That] Labour MPs should be held to higher standards is rubbish. I care about what is in the Budget. They have declared these gifts so it is [in the] public domain.”
Ms Phillipson is the latest senior Labour figure to face criticism for accepting donations, with Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, Chancellor Rachel Reeves, and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer having all been mixed up in the row.
Ms Rayner said on Sunday she understood people were “frustrated” and “angry” that figures had received thousands of pounds in gifts. But she added these had been a feature of British politics for a very long time.
The deputy PM argued donations were necessary because of the expense of running for office and stressed the importance of transparency.
Ms Rayner has herself been criticised for staying in a flat owned by Lord Alli while on holiday in New York, but denied breaking any Commons rules about declaring the gift. She and the Chancellor also declared donations of clothing as office expenses while Sir Keir accepted thousands of pounds in freebies, including Arsenal tickets.
