...By Solomon Thomas for TDPel Media.
Labour Leader Sir Keir Starmer is facing criticism for having spent £160,000 on chauffeur-driven cars during his five-year tenure as Director of Public Prosecutions at the Crown Prosecution Service.
This amount is three times the sum spent by his successor in the same role over the same period, raising concerns about Labour’s financial responsibility.
Starmer’s total travel bill was £236,485, which included business and first-class flights worth thousands of pounds.
The Director of Public Prosecutions’ role is based in London and not typically understood to require extensive travel.
Questions are being raised about whether Labour can be trusted with public money given Starmer’s record.
On GB News Breakfast, shadow financial secretary to the Treasury James Murray was questioned about the implications of Starmer’s lavish spending on the party’s credibility.
Murray defended Starmer’s record, stating that every pledge and promise made by the party is fully costed and funded, and that public money will be spent wisely.
He also criticized the government’s record on waste and argued that the public’s money should be spent on their priorities.
Starmer is not the only leading Labour figure to have faced criticism for excessive spending.
In 2019, Deputy Leader Angela Rayner was in the spotlight for having spent £2,100 of taxpayers’ money on Apple technology, including £249 for personalized air pods.
In 2015, current shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves was one of 19 Members of Parliament to have her official taxpayer-funded credit card suspended by IPSA after accruing over £4,000 of invalid expenses.
Critics argue that these incidents highlight a double standard within the party and undermine its credibility on financial matters.
