‘No rules’ to prevent Labour donor and peer getting Number 10 pass, party chair says
There were “no rules” to stop Labour giving donor Lord Waheed Alli a Downing Street pass, the party’s chair has told Sky News.
Lord Alli, who is a Labour member of the House of Lords, has given more than £500,000 to the party over two decades.
Speaking to Sky News this morning, Ellie Reeves – who is also a Cabinet Office minister – was asked if it was right to give Lord Alli a pass despite him not having a formal job in government.
PM warns ‘painful’ budget to come – follow latest
She claimed the peer only had access to Downing Street for “a period of a few weeks” – and the “proper processes” were followed.
Pushed on whether it was reasonable for someone who donated large sums of money to be given access to the seat of power in the UK, Ms Reeves said: “There are no rules that prevent someone who has made a donation or had a political job in the past… having a role.
“There are rules that have to be followed, there are processes that have to be followed – and it’s important that those rules are respected.”
It is still unclear why Lord Alli had a pass to get access to Downing Street.
Ms Reeves said the peer and donor was “not involved in policy” – but could not provide further clarity on why he was in Downing Street.
Labour previously said he attended a small number of political meetings with no civil servants, and said he gave back his pass at the end of July.
Lord Alli was ennobled by Tony Blair in 1998. He also worked as the party’s chief fundraiser for the general election, having been hired by Sir Keir in 2022.
And he also donated £100,000 to Sir Keir for his leadership campaign in 2020, according to the Sky News Westminster Account project.
Read more from Sky News:
Tories demand investigation into civil service appointments
Who’s who in Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s inner circle
John Glen, the Conservative shadow paymaster general, said over the weekend: “Starmer’s sleaze is engulfing this new government and it’s time Labour came clean on all the people they’ve parachuted into top civil service jobs and the donors they’ve returned favours to so the independence and integrity of the civil service is maintained.”
Ms Reeves was also asked if the cabinet is fully behind the government’s decision to means test the winter fuel payment for pensioners.
She said: “This is an incredibly tough decision and not one that the chancellor wanted to be taking.
“But it’s because of the economic mess that we’ve inherited from the previous government.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
👉 Click to subscribe to the Sky News Daily wherever you get your podcasts 👈
“We got into government and found that there was a £22bn black hole in the country’s finances, and that requires tough choices.”
She added that the “cabinet are behind the chancellor” after being asked several times if there was unity on the decision in government.
Politics
Wes Streeting ‘crossed the line’ by opposing assisted dying in public, says Labour peer Harriet Harman
Wes Streeting “crossed the line” by opposing assisted dying in public and the argument shouldn’t “come down to resources”, a Labour peer has said.
Speaking on Sky News’ Electoral Dysfunction podcast, Baroness Harriet Harman criticised the health secretary for revealing how he is going to vote on the matter when it comes before parliament later this month.
MPs are being given a free vote, meaning they can side with their conscience and not party lines, so the government is supposed to be staying neutral.
But Mr Streeting has made clear he will vote against legalising assisted dying, citing concerns end-of-life care is not good enough for people to make an informed choice, and that some could feel pressured into the decision to save the NHS money.
He has also ordered a review into the potential costs of changing the law, warning it could come at the expense of other NHS services if implemented.
Baroness Harman said Mr Streeting has “crossed the line in two ways”.
👉 Click here to listen to Electoral Dysfunction on your podcast app 👈
“He should not have said how he was going to vote, because that breaches neutrality and sends a signal,” she said.
“And secondly… he’s said the problem is that it will cost money to bring in an assisted dying measure, and therefore he will have to cut other services.
“But paradoxically, he also said it would be a slippery slope because people will be forced to bring about their own death in order to save the NHS money. Well, it can’t be doing both things.
“It can’t be both costing the NHS money and saving the NHS money.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Review into assisted dying costs
Baroness Harman said the argument “should not come down to resources” as it is a “huge moral issue” affecting “only a tiny number of people”.
She added that people should not mistake Mr Streeting for being “a kind of proxy for Keir Starmer”.
“The government is genuinely neutral and all of those backbenchers, they can vote whichever way they want,” she added.
Read more on this story:
‘Fix care before assisted dying legislation’
Why assisted dying is controversial – and where it’s already legal
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has previously expressed support for assisted dying, but it is not clear how he intends to vote on the issue or if he will make his decision public ahead of time.
The cabinet has varying views on the topic, with the likes of Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood siding with Mr Streeting in her opposition but Energy Secretary Ed Miliband being for it.
Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband is said to support the bill. Pic: Reuters
Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood has concerns. Pic: Reuters
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill is being championed by Labour backbencher Kim Leadbeater, who wants to give people with six months left to live the choice to end their lives.
Under her proposals, two independent doctors must confirm a patient is eligible for assisted dying and a High Court judge must give their approval.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Labour MP Kim Leadbeater discusses End of Life Bill
The bill will also include punishments of up to 14 years in prison for those who break the law, including coercing someone into ending their own life.
MPs will debate and vote on the legislation on 29 November, in what will be the first Commons vote on assisted dying since 2015, when the proposal was defeated.
The crypto industry is “going to save hundreds of millions of dollars” with Donald Trump as president, Consensys CEO Joe Lubin forecasts.
Former CFTC Acting Chair Chris Giancarlo said he’s “already cleaned up earlier Gary Gensler mess,” shooting down speculation he’d replace the SEC Chair.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports7 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Environment1 year agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business2 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway