In the opening scene of The Godfather, the local undertaker, whose daughter has been dishonoured by some local thugs and the courts haven’t punished them appropriately, makes a deal with Don Corleone (“The Godfather”) in order to get his revenge. Essentially, he offers his ‘friendship’ and an implicit agreement to help The Godfather at a later date. As the Big Man says,

“Someday, and that day may never come, I will call upon you to do a service for me. But until that day, accept this justice as a gift on my daughter’s wedding day”.

Over the next few days the thugs do get their (very severe) justice, and later in the film the undertaker is asked to prepare Don Corleone’s own son for burial.

It’s a nasty story, but one with a serious moral: with the exception of good friends and family, people don’t generally do things for you without expecting something in return.

Which brings me on to Keir Starmer…. Now I know they’ve all done it over the years – accepting gifts and presents from supporters, that is – and in moderation there’s no harm in it, but ultimately people don’t give presents to other people without expecting something in return. This isn’t necessarily a dig at the current government since it’s an established practice, and there’s a register so Members can declare donations and gifts they receive. So technically, nobody has done anything wrong. In fact, he said as much in an answer yesterday,

“The important thing in all of this is that we follow the rules.”

Well, yes Kier, but that’s the barristers answer – the one you might give when defending a client at the bar. But the court of public opinion will think differently. What we expect is that our leaders demonstrate good judgment and set an example, rather than indulging themselves at every opportunity. The prime minister has declared over £150,000 of gifts in recent years – that’s concert tickets, football tickets, clothes, holidays etc – and it does start to look a little excessive. Especially against a backdrop of removing the Winter Fuel Allowance from some of the poorest pensioners in the country, and being a millionaire many times over already.

It’s simply the look of the thing – it’s really not good. How can he now talk with any authority about ‘Tory sleaze’, or claim that Labour is the party that represents the poor. It’s a shame, I was hoping for better.

Update 22 Sept 2022 afternoon.

Not surprizingly, Mr. Starmer isn’t the only one. Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, has confirmed she recieved a £7,500 gift for clothes, and the education secretary, Briget Phillipson, has confirmed £14,000 for some birthday party costs and some Taylor Swift tickets.

Asked about the donations from Lord Alli, Ms Phillipson told Sky’s Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips:

“So I received that money from Waheed Alli, who’s a long-standing Labour peer. “It was used to fund two events, all of which was declared properly and thoroughly – that’s why that information’s in the public domain. The first event was ahead of my birthday, so I was turning 40.

“I thought it was a good opportunity to get people together in a professional context – so it was journalists, trade unionists, education people, MPs and shadow Cabinet. The second event was an event that I held also, again, for Lobby journalists, for people in the education world, as part of a reception. It was in a work context.”

Yup – good one Bridget! Just curious though – did you invite any, you know, err, teachers to your party, meeting?

Update 27th September 2024 Evening.

It’s just been announced that ‘Free Gear Kier’ (to give hime his real name) also recieved £16,000 from Labour Lord Alli: £10,000 in October 2023 and £6000 in Febuary 2024. He declared it as ‘money for his private office’.

Oh dear!