Oiling wheels of government - John McLellan

Prime Minister Keir Starmer waves as he stands with his wife VictoriaPrime Minister Keir Starmer waves as he stands with his wife Victoria
Prime Minister Keir Starmer waves as he stands with his wife Victoria
Those leaping to the defence of Sir Keir Starmer, his wife, Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Deputy PM Angela Rayner about designer apparel for access have very short memories, the whitabootery extending only to Conservative excesses, with the accompanying Labour indignation at the time conveniently forgotten.

But it’s a bad look in anyone’s book to be pocketing £170,000 and not think it might be a bit off for a millionaire to be buying your outfits.

I remember in Ruth Davidson’s early days as Scottish Conservative leader the closest thing she got to a personal shopper was sending me one way round the Jenners’ ladies wear department while she went round the other. “Grab any red jacket you see and meet me here,” she said.

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But the outrage should stop at corporate hospitality, because if politicians were prevented from ever being entertained by anyone at all they would never have anything other than formal meetings in which the opportunity for frank exchanges, or otherwise, would be virtually non-existent, other than unrecorded assignations.

Even councillors must declare hospitality, and if corporate entertainment is openly documented then what’s the problem? So Scottish Salmon (chief executive ex-Lib Dem leader Tavish Scott) entertained Anas Sarwar and Ian Murray at Anfield? So what?

Corporate events run most nights of the week at Westminster and Holyrood, paid for by the hosts, yet no-one bats an eyelid. Politicians meeting individuals and organisations in a relaxed atmosphere helps oil the wheels of government and the opposite, a Putin-esque withdrawal from all contact, would be much, much worse.

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