Vocal Voices

Or whatever it was.
It wasn't out of the news for weeks.
The Labour party made hay about it; Tory sleaze! Well, that's politics I suppose. The BBC gloated.

But what do we have now?
We have a list - and a very long list - of freebies, gifts and money that has been heading the way of Labour luminaries for the past few years.
Labour peer Lord Alli has given the party £500,000 since 2020.
And some of it appears to have been listed wrongly.
Rachel Reeves has admitted that a £3,550 donation from Alli was described as "a donation in kind for undertaking Parliamentary duties" when it was actually spent on clothes.
Kier Starmer accepted the use of an £18 million penthouse flat in Covent Garden during the election campaign.

Since the start of 2024 the Labour cabinet has accepted more than £800,000 in donations and freebies.
Leading the way is David Lammy with more than £150,000. This includes a box at Tottenham Hotspur and £40,440 from a Labour think tank, Labour together.
Wes Streeting is in second place with £117,000 in donations and gifts including four tickets and hospitality at a taylor Swift concert, £1,160. He received £48,000 in four instalments from OPD group, run by Labour supporter Peter Hearn.
Angela Rayner has had £104,000 worth.

So there you are. I suppose that the problem is that when you mount your morally superior high horse, it's a long drop when you fall off.

Have the people who say "They're all the same" been right all along?
I wonder how many will bother to vote in the next elections?

Putting the party politic point scoring thing aside this is basically what my 'MP's should be banned...' thread was about. Maybe the threads should merge?

Personal donations, gifts, freebies or whatever we call them, put the recipient(s) under all sorts of pressures, even blackmail. They simply should not be allowed. It has gone on far too long and members from all parties have abused it.

It is not as though MPs are only on the living wage and are struggling to survive. They are on a fabulous salary compared to most of us with an expenses system we can only dream of.

Well said Crommers.

Ah, 'Well said' so long as you are a Con, Reform, or right wing supporter.

Those of us who are a bit more left, even though we do not like the the donations thing, are scum of the Earth. Got it.

Only Labour get freebies... nobody else does.

Workingman wrote:Putting the party politic point scoring thing aside this is basically what my 'MP's should be banned...' thread was about. Maybe the threads should merge?
Personal donations, gifts, freebies or whatever we call them, put the recipient(s) under all sorts of pressures, even blackmail. They simply should not be allowed. It has gone on far too long and members from all parties have abused it.
It is not as though MPs are only on the living wage and are struggling to survive. They are on a fabulous salary compared to most of us with an expenses system we can only dream of.

I can't fault your post, WM, "personal donations" have been with the political classes for so long that it has become the accepted norm.
I can only say that I'm disappointed to find that the top Labour echelons are just as complict as the Conservatives.
You pretty much expected it from Johnson's Tories, but I had hoped better of the new Government. Silly me.

Honeymoon firmly over.
(And that's not "buyers remorse", I certainly didn't vote Labour)

cromwell wrote:Have the people who say "They're all the same" been right all along?

Yep

cromwell wrote:I wonder how many will bother to vote in the next elections?

Oh, I think plenty will vote, Crommers. It's just a question of which snake-oil salesmen will be the recipients.

Workingman wrote:Ah, 'Well said' so long as you are a Con, Reform, or right wing supporter.

Those of us who are a bit more left, even though we do not like the the donations thing, are scum of the Earth. Got it.

Only Labour get freebies... nobody else does.

Honestly, what a strange reaction WM, not sure what you've been reading, but I can't see anyone on here saying anything of the sort. Surely we can have a discussion without you resorting to unnecessary language. No surprise some of us now tend to avoid posting on this board!!

jenniren wrote:Honestly, what a strange reaction WM

Strange, Jen, why?

The other day I made a similar post to Cromwell's but it was apolitical in its nature. Nobody replied. I then agreed with the sentiment of Cromwell's post pointing out that the criticism should be to all MPs and all parties, not just to one side. That seemed a fair observation.

With your reply you took the political route, as you are entitled to do, but it did seem like a tacit support for the right and an attack on the left. Hence my retort. I did not use "unnecessary" language I just stated how some of us are sometimes made to feel.

However, even with that, it will not stop me posting on the board. Opinions, even differing ones, are allowed, or at least I think they are. Sorry!!

Workingman wrote:Strange, Jen, why?

Not strange at all WM, being accused of calling people the scum of the earth is making it personal and frankly derogatory. At no time was it said or even thought. I will do you the courtesy of perhaps not being aware that your posts come over as quite unpleasant at times.

Workingman wrote:this is basically what my 'MP's should be banned...' thread was about. Maybe the threads should merge?

Sorry WM, I didn't see your thread when I posted. I've no objection to them being merged.