The PM must be 'careful' amid freebies row as ordinary people face 'really tough winter'

Labour’s freebies row comes after the party warn the public about a tough budget and difficult winter.

Mr Starmer has faced allegations of financial rule-breaking by failing to declare donations of clothes and a personal shopper for his wife Victoria during the election campaign by Labour donor Lord Alli. MPs are required to report gifts within 28 days under Parliament's rules.

No10 sought fresh advice last week and made a late declaration on the gifts to the PM's wife. The Conservatives have written to the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner calling for an investigation after the gifts were not initially declared in the register of MPs' interests.

But a senior No10 source said: “The parliamentary commissioner for standards has confirmed there won’t be an investigation into late declarations.”

Mr Starmer defended himself, saying he's a stickler for the rules, and the matter had come to light after his team clarified what he should be declaring.

Do you think MPs should be allowed to accept freebies? Vote in our poll HERE to have your say.

Regardless of there not being an investigation, the row has left the PM in a sticky situation ahead of a potentially ‘tough’ budget and winter.

Speaking on The Division Bell podcast, the Mirror’s Lizzy Buchan said: “I do think there is a point to be made… [Mr Starmer’s] marketed himself as the Mr. Change candidate.”

“[Labour] fought an election on promising to deliver the end of Tory sleaze…they hammered Boris Johnson – rightly – for lots of reasons on the kind of murkiness of some of his declarations and his donations, and there were long periods where we couldn't figure out who had paid for the refurbishment of the Downing Street flat. It was right to criticize that.

“But that means that you have to also be upheld to the same standards. I think the public have shown over and over again they're totally fed up of politicians bending the rules and acting like it's one rule for them and one rule for the rest of us, whether that was during Covid or for any other reason.”

The row comes after the PM and Chancellor announced a roll-back on the winter fuel allowance impacting 10 million pensioners.

Mr Starmer and Ms Reeves have previously warned the public that they may have to endure difficult decisions in the autumn budget as they work to fix the black hole left in the country’s finances by the Conservatives.

Lizzy said: “I do think that Labour needs to be careful here, because even if the rules are being followed…there is still an issue of perception here.”

“We're also looking down the barrel of a really tough winter, tough budget…There is a perception issue about saying, ‘okay, you know, we are going to make the vulnerable and the hard-pressed pay more, life is going to be hard, everyone's got to tighten their belts.” But [simultaneously] there's all sorts of perks for people in government.”

For more, you can listen to The Division Bell on Spotify, and Apple Podcasts