WES Streeting has been panned for his defence of Labour politicians amid a row about donations.
The party’s conference has risked being overshadowed as opponents have attacked Keir Starmer and his top team for accepting a range of gifts, including clothing from Labour donor Lord Waheed Alli.
The Education Secretary meanwhile has admitted taking a five-figure sum from a Labour donor to fund a party with journalists and lobbyists for her birthday, while Anas Sarwar and Ian Murray were caught up in the row as it emerged they were treated to hospitality at Anfield in Liverpool.
“I’m really proud of people who want to contribute…their money to our politics. It is a noble pursuit.” Wes Streeting lauds donors as he defends Keir Starmer’s decision to accept donations for hospitality.#Newsnight pic.twitter.com/Z8QZZyo0XH
— BBC Newsnight (@BBCNewsnight) September 23, 2024
Speaking to BBC Newsnight, Health Secretary Wes Streeting was asked about the donations row and said: “I’m proud of people who want to contribute, not just their time and volunteering, but their money to our politics.
“It is a noble pursuit just like giving to charity and we don’t recognise that enough. The alternative is we ask taxpayers to fund our politics.
“I’d think they rather their taxes went into the NHS and our schools or stayed in their own pockets.”
Asked if accepting tickets to a Taylor Swift concert was a “noble cause”, Streeting replied by saying Starmer would “shake it off”.
“Let me say, I’m absolutely delighted in the BBC’s newfound conviction that no one should be paid more than the prime minister, that they shouldn’t give or receive hospitality and we’ll judge the performance on the social media mentions.”
Streeting faced criticism for his comments on Twitter/X with Alba general secretary Chris McEleny writing: “Wes Streeting: Bribing politicians is a noble pursuit akin to donating to charity.
“We’re going to rebuild trust in our politics…” “Do you think you’ve started well in terms of rebuilding trust with the freebie scandal?” Wes Streeting is asked about the criticism the Labour government has faced around donations.#Newsnight pic.twitter.com/jVuT0Dae13
— BBC Newsnight (@BBCNewsnight) September 23, 2024
“Led by the worst generations of politicians in history.”
Another user described Streeting’s response as “ridiculous” while a third said it was “arrogant”.
“Paying for Sir Keir’s glasses
In a separate interview with Victoria Derbyshire, Streeting said Labour would “rebuild trust in our politics” and was asked if he felt they were off to a good start amid the “freebie scandal”.
He was grilled on donations he had accepted, saying they had gone towards staffing and campaign costs.
