The ‘freebies’ scandal exposes the entitlement of the woke

For Labour cabinet ministers, politics really is the gift that keeps on giving. Birthday parties, posh frocks, Taylor Swift concerts, New York holidays, designer specs, accommodation for one’s children… the list of presents they have accepted is enough to make Father Christmas blush. But not, it seems, those in receipt of such largesse. So convinced were Keir Starmer, Rachel Reeves and Angela Rayner that they actually deserved all this free stuff that neither embarrassment nor shame has featured in their response. Instead, they seem genuinely shocked and aggrieved at being asked questions about it by the media.

It was all within the rules, cried technocrat Starmer when news broke last week that he had accepted gifts totalling more than £100,000 since 2019, substantially more than any other MP. So convinced is the PM that following the letter of the law is all that matters, the appalling optics of taking cash for clothes while removing winter-fuel payments for pensioners entirely passed him by. So what if the elderly go cold this winter? Starmer has declared his designer suits in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. Marie Antoinette seemed less out of touch than Labour’s front bench.

The ‘freebies’ scandal reveals more about the Labour government than just a lack of political nous. The sense of entitlement driving the righteous indignation of those currently in the spotlight exposes just how persuaded they are of their own moral virtue. Now caught in the glare of public scrutiny, Starmer and his pals are incredulous. Not by their own or their colleagues’ questionable deeds, or even at having been found out. They are shocked, it seems, that some are now questioning their goodness. What has been unfolding across our TV screens and newspaper front pages for the past week or so now is the entitlement of the woke elite.

Perhaps it is unsurprising that Labour’s cabinet ministers are so high on their own virtue. After all, as Fraser Myers pointed out this week on spiked, they have had years of being fawned over by their friends in the media and being praised to the hilt for the simple fact of not being Tories. The problem for Starmer and Co is that when everyone keeps insisting you are the good guys, you start to believe it. You come to think they are right: only someone fundamentally good is truly deserving of a seat in a corporate box to watch Arsenal play at home.

The cheering on of phoney displays of moral virtue has been much in evidence since Starmer took up residence in Downing Street. A positive vision for the future of the country is notable by its absence, but the PM has removed a portrait of Margaret Thatcher from his office. Take that, Tories! Rachel Reeves may be warning of economic doom and gloom but fret not. Her corridors will only contain paintings either by or of women. Such a girl boss! It is almost as if, in the eyes of the Labour leadership team, one act cancels out another. So what if old people go cold? Think of the artwork! Never mind job losses in the steel industry, think of the promised windmills and solar farms!

The Labour rank and file, it seems, are fine with this game, too. Reeves was given a standing ovation during her party-conference speech this week when she mentioned that she was the first female chancellor of the exchequer. Forget the policies, reward identity – that’s the message this sends. When you are applauded just for turning up, it is easy to convince yourself you deserve special treatment. Who can blame Reeves for thinking she is entitled to a free dress?

This same logic has allowed nepotism to flourish within the Labour Party. Reeves no doubt has to put in long hours as chancellor, but this does not mean she will miss out on family time. Her younger sister, Ellie, is party chair and minister without portfolio in cabinet. Hamilton and Clyde Valley MP Imogen Walker is the wife of Morgan McSweeney, Starmer’s head of political strategy. The new MP for Beckenham and Penge, Liam Conlon, is the son of Sue Gray, Starmer’s chief of staff. Pat McFadden, influential chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, is husband to the deputy campaign director behind Labour’s electoral victory. James Naish, MP for Rushcliffe, is Alastair Campbell’s nephew. On and on it goes.

Labour’s leading lights make a big deal of telling us they are humble. During the election, Starmer repeated the fact that his dad was a toolmaker so often it became a national joke. Reeves makes much of her parents being primary-school teachers. When people go to huge lengths to tell you how normal they are, the opposite often seems to be the case. Whatever the reality of their individual upbringings, the web of relationships between senior party figures suggests that Labour is now a woke elite consolidating its position.

Starmer, Reeves and many others in Labour may see themselves as so morally virtuous that they deserve an easy ride in the press and gifts galore. But they are quickly discovering that this sense of their own tremendous worth is not shared by the public.

Joanna Williams is a spiked columnist and author of How Woke Won. She is a visiting fellow at MCC Budapest. Read her new report, Sexualising Children? The Rise of Comprehensive Sexuality Education, here.