ANDREW NEIL: Turns out Labour’s just as sleazy as the Tories, maybe even worse. No wonder the populist parties are on the march
ANDREW NEIL: Turns out Labour’s just as sleazy as the Tories, maybe even worse. No wonder the populist parties are on the march
In their 2024 manifesto, Labour asserted that ‘corruption and scandal’ defined the Conservative era, undermining public confidence. Keir Starmer, a seasoned legal figure, was positioned as a reformer committed to integrity.
His party pledged to ‘always put the interests of the country first’ by launching a ‘clean-up’ of public life, aiming to ‘ensure the highest standards of integrity’ in governance. Yet, despite the gravity of ongoing domestic and international issues, Labour’s commitment to this cleanup has received less attention than warranted. Their pledge to uphold ‘highest standards of integrity’ in public office hadn’t yet been thoroughly examined.
Not long after the election, the party’s conduct came under scrutiny when Starmer and senior figures, including Chancellor Rachel Reeves, accepted generous gifts from affluent donors and lobbyists. These included high-end designer items, upscale lodging, and premium event tickets, such as Arsenal matches and Taylor Swift concerts.
A prominent donor, Waheed Alli—a Blairite Labour peer—was granted unique access to 10 Downing Street in exchange for his contributions, including a role in selecting advisors. The embarrassment of senior Labour officials receiving perks was amplified by the contrast with their public stance against Tory corruption. This was dismissed as the missteps of inexperienced newcomers, with lessons supposedly learned.
Subsequent events exposed a pattern. Anti-corruption minister Tulip Siddiq resigned after being implicated in a family scandal in Bangladesh, where she received an absentia sentence. Housing minister Angela Rayner, also serving as deputy prime minister, stepped down following allegations of unpaid property taxes. Most notably, Rushanara Ali, the minister for homelessness, resigned after reports she had evicted tenants and increased rents by £700, exacerbating the housing crisis.
Transport Secretary Louise Haigh became an early casualty, resigning five months after the election when her failure to disclose a 2013 fraud conviction emerged. Recently, Cabinet Office minister Josh Simons followed suit, resigning after a dossier was revealed to smear journalists investigating Labour Together, a think tank he previously led.
Among the most prominent was Peter Mandelson, whose dismissal as U.S. ambassador sparked global headlines. Appointed by his friend Sir Keir in December 2024, Mandelson fell from grace due to revelations.
Labour’s crusade against sleaze and scandal, we were assured, was still intact. Except that it wasn’t.
