It’s a story as old as politics. Left-wing politicians are so convinced of their moral superiority that they act as if everything they do is, by definition, right. This allows them to do whatever they see fit.
If you thought this Labour government would be any different, you would soon be proven wrong. One of the defining characteristics of Keir Starmer’s government is its blatant cronyism and arrogant disregard for fundamental rights.
Since taking office last month, Labour has turned cronyism into an industry, turning its donors and supporters into key roles (as revealed by Guy Adams in these pages on Saturday), including directly into senior civil service posts that are supposed to be politically motivated, subject to fair and open competition except in exceptional circumstances.
Yesterday it emerged that Lord Ali, who has not only donated £500,000 to the Labour Party since 2020 but is himself Sir Keir Starmer’s biggest private donor, has had a security pass at 10 Downing Street since Labour took office. Bizarrely, no one seems to know what anyone does around No 10, apart from hosting a post-election reception in Downing Street Gardens.
The Labour Party has already taken a sudden turn in another example of cronyism. (Sir Keya speaking after the Cobra meeting on 6 August)
Lord Ali paid Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner £20,000, plus the use of a flat in New York. (Pictured: Ms Rayner at the 2023 Labour Party Conference)
But it’s not just strange that his role is so obscure: it raises further questions about Labour cronyism, as no one who wants to pass No 10 gets one. They are supposed to be reserved for civil servants and advisers, the Chancellor and the Prime Minister’s family. Why is Lord Ollie eligible for one? Is it because of his donation?
He gave Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner £20,000, plus the use of a flat in New York. He also reached into his own pocket for the Prime Minister, paying £16,200 for “work clothes” (suits). He even handed over £2,485 for “several pairs of glasses”. For Lord Ollie, it appears to be a case of “going over glasses”.
What makes this particularly confusing is that Labour has struggled to get its story straight. When the revelations came to light yesterday, the team said its pass was temporary and had been withdrawn “weeks ago”. But that is not what Downing Street told journalists who broke the story in The Sunday Times. On Friday, Downing Street confirmed that Lord Alley did not have the pass, but it was still active. It appears that Number 10 changed its story yesterday morning, presumably when it realised how bad this latest example of cronyism looked.
As for the truth, who knows? Labour may have only been in power for seven weeks, but we already know it has little obligation to distort the truth.
Last week, for example, it became clear that the party’s promise not to raise income tax, VAT or National Insurance was meaningless, when the chief secretary to the Treasury, Darren Jones, started talking about not raising “employee National Insurance” – in other words, increasing the employer’s share.
The Labour Party has already taken a sudden U-turn on another example of cronyism. Ian Corfield, who donated £20,000 to the party, was appointed to a senior civil service post as Treasury investment director. The job was approved by the Civil Service Commission but, crucially, the commission was reportedly never told that Corfield had also donated £5,000 to Chancellor Rachel Reeves. However, as soon as this shady appointment came under scrutiny, he resigned over the weekend.
One of the defining characteristics of Keir Starmer’s government is its blatant cronyism and arrogant disregard for fundamental rights. (Pictured: Keir Starmer meets Defence Secretary John Healy and House of Lords George Robertson at 10 Downing Street)
When Boris Johnson (pictured) appointed Kate Bingham to an unpaid position as head of the “vaccine taskforce”, Labour led the charge against her as a crony. (Boris Johnson delivers his speech during the Salzburg summit)
Labour is not shy about relegating its people to a once-neutral role. Take Jess Sargent, who until the election worked for Labour Together, a star-studded lobby group. He was parachuted in shortly after Labour’s victory as deputy head of the Property and Constitution Group at the Cabinet Office, the Whitehall unit responsible for investigating political wrongdoing.
The hypocrisy is stunning. When Boris Johnson appointed Kate Bingham, one of the UK’s leading biotech experts, to an unpaid position to lead the “vaccine taskforce”, Labour led the attack on her as a crony, as her husband was the Conservative MP Jesse Norman.
Months before the election, Sir Kiir promised that the Labour Party would “restore the quality of public life by completely cracking down on cronyism”.
Now the boot is firmly on the other foot and, as No 10 walks through Lord Alley, Sir Keir is exposed as a hypocrite of the highest order.
