Sir Keir Starmer has insisted he is in “complete control” of his government as he heads to the Labour Party conference in Liverpool, facing questions over his chief of staff’s salary, acceptance of luxury gifts, and the cutting of winter fuel payments.
The Prime Minister gave a round of interviews with regional broadcasters on Thursday, addressing the controversy surrounding Sue Gray, who is paid £170,000 as chief of staff—about £3,000 more than Starmer himself. Asked about anonymous briefings and whether he was in control, Starmer said: “I’m completely in control. I’m focused and every day the message from me to the team is exactly the same, which is we have to deliver.”
Starmer also defended accepting a private box at Arsenal worth over £8,000 per match, calling it “common sense” due to security concerns. He said he would rather be in the stands but would not ask taxpayers to fund security there. He added: “I’m a life-long Arsenal fan. I’ve been going for years and years and years and it’s a real passion of mine and I can go with my boy.”
On the row over donations from Labour peer Waheed Alli, including £5,000 for dresses for his wife Victoria, Starmer sidestepped questions about buying his own suits, saying: “The important thing in all of this is that we follow the rules, which is really important to me and make the declarations so that everything is transparent.”
When pressed on the decision to cut winter fuel payments to pensioners, Starmer blamed the £22 billion black hole in the finances he says the Tories left behind.
