A former Tory deputy Prime Minister who was defeated by a Labour candidate in her ex-Suffolk constituency has since applied for a senior Labour Treasury role.
Therese Coffey, who lost to Jenny Riddell-Carpenter by just 1,070 votes in Suffolk Coastal, tried to become the UK director at the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development (EBRD).
The position is considered a director-level role at the Treasury, with Chancellor Rachel Reeves deciding who is appointed.
It also comes with a cushy £183,400 annual salary, roughly double an MP’s income.
Coffey, who served as Liz Truss’ deputy Prime Minister and Health Secretary, told The Telegraph: “It was an interesting role. I thought I would apply given my experience in Government on international work. I have dealt with these sorts of banks before.”
Ex-Chief Secretary to the Treasury Simon Clarke voiced concern about the report.
Clarke, who lost Middlesbrough South & East Cleveland by just 214 votes, said: “It really don’t know what is going on here.
“But it reflects very poorly either on someone at a department I love and respect, the Treasury (which I strongly doubt) or on whoever in the Government has briefed this out.”
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Mel Stride ruled out any deal with Farage to restore his party’s fortunes after last month’s election landslide.
Stride also said that if he were to replace Rishi Sunak as party leader he would commit to cutting net immigration to tens of thousands of people a year.
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Jeremy Hunt has slammed Chancellor Rachel Reeves after inflation creeped up to 2.2 per cent.
The Shadow Chancellor, who left No11 as Labour romped to victory last month, claimed any tax hikes had been “planned all along”.
He added: “Today’s figures show how important it is that the new Labour government follows the path of the previous Conservative Government and focus on keeping inflation low.
“In Government, we took the difficult decisions to reduce inflation from 11.1 percent to the Bank of England’s target of 2 percent – paving the way for the first interest rate cut in four years. However, there is clearly more to be done to keep inflation down.
“The Chancellor must not use this data as an excuse to break her promises and hike up taxes. Tax rises she had planned all along.”