Rebecca Long-Bailey MP, formerly of Labour, has criticised Keir Starmer in the wake of a freebies row.
Long-Bailey, who was suspended by the Labour Party in July, spoke to GB News about how she once refused a gift due to her fears on how it might have been perceived.
The Salford MP had her whip withdrawn after defying the government by voting in favour of scrapping the two-child benefit cap.
Asked about Starmer’s decision to hand back £6,000, she told GB News: “My own personal view is that, when you’re in a position of power and you accept gifts, there’s an inference that something needs to be given in return.
Rebecca Long-Bailey said Starmer needs to be more careful with his gift taking
GB NEWS / PA
“Many years ago, when I was shadow business secretary, I went to visit a business and find out what they were doing and talk about policies and the things Labour would do in government.
“As a thank you, they presented me with the most beautiful handbag you have ever seen in your life. They even had my initials embossed on the side.
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Rebecca Long-Bailey criticised Starmer
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“I felt so bad. I knew they were trying to do something nice but I knew I couldn’t accept it because it would be inferred that I was doing it because of a gift.
“I just think that when you’re in a position of power, you can’t accept gifts in that way. You have to be so careful.”
Asked by Bev Turner if she feels you need your “nose in the trough” to rise to the top in British politics, Long-Bailey said she does not feel this is the case.
“You shouldn’t have to”, she said.
Starmer balmed his teenage son for £20,000 accommodation freebie
PA
“That’s the problem with politics. You knock on the door of some constituents and they say, ‘you’re all the same’, but we’re not.
“Politicians from all parties have to show that politicians, for the most part, don’t have their nose in the trough. We’re in it because we want to make our communities a better place.”
Starmer has said he is committed to overhauling hospitality rules for ministers to ensure better transparency about what is provided to them following the backlash over freebies.
The prime minister is covering the cost of six Taylor Swift tickets, four to the races and a clothing rental agreement with a high-end designer favoured by his wife, Lady Victoria Starmer.
On Wednesday, a Downing Street spokesperson said: “The Prime Minister has commissioned a new set of principles on gifts and hospitality to be published as part of the updated ministerial code.
“Ahead of the publication of the new code, the Prime Minister has paid for several entries on his own register. This will appear in the next register of members’ interests.”