Labour-supporting Gary Neville backs Keir Starmer over ‘freebies’ row
Gary Neville today offered his staunch support to Sir Keir Starmer over the ‘freebies’ row that has dogged Labour‘s conference in Liverpool.
The former footballer claimed criticism of the Prime Minister was ‘absolutely incredible’ as he defended Sir Keir for taking top-end football tickets.
Neville, a Labour Party member, said he was ‘struggling’ with the focus on the PM’s donations as he hit out at the ‘absolute corruption’ of the previous Tory government.
The 49-year-old – who appeared alongside Sir Keir in a Labour election broadcast this summer – also suggested it was too soon to judge the new Government’s performance, following a bumpy start to life in No10 for the PM.
Sir Keir has endured a miserable start to his first Labour conference as PM due to the close scrutiny of his links to millionaire Labour peer Lord Waheed Alli.
The businessman, who was handed a Downing Street pass shortly after Labour won power, donated thousands of pounds’ worth of suits and glasses to Sir Keir.
Gary Neville offered his staunch support to Sir Keir Starmer over the ‘freebies’ row that has dogged Labour ‘s conference in Liverpool
The former footballer appeared at a Labour conference fringe event alongside Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy
Sir Keir has endured a miserable start to his first Labour conference as PM due to the close scrutiny of his links to millionaire Labour peer Lord Waheed Alli
The row over senior Labour figures taking freebies has also brought fresh attention to Sir Keir’s frequent use of donated football tickets
Lord Alli has also funded high-end clothing for Sir Keir’s wife, Victoria, and allowed Deputy PM Angela Rayner to stay in his plush New York apartment during a holiday.
The row over senior Labour figures taking freebies has also brought fresh attention to Sir Keir’s frequent use of donated football tickets.
The PM was recently revealed to have accepted a luxury box at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium when he wants to watch his beloved Gunners.
Sir Keir said the arrangements were made after he was advised not to sit in his usual seat in the stands due to security concerns.
Speaking at a Labour conference fringe event today, Neville offered a forthright defence of the PM.
He said: ‘I’m struggling with the free football tickets one quite a bit, to be honest with you, when I look at the absolute corruption we’ve seen in the last five, six, seven, eight years with people getting billions of pounds worth of contracts in VIP lanes.’
The ex-England and Manchester United defender added: ‘Keir Starmer’s paid for his season ticket to go with his family to watch Arsenal all his life.
‘And he’s now being told he can’t go to that same seat, when I’m sure he would – you know he would, everybody knows he would – he’s been told he’s got to go in a hospitality box, a private box.
‘To be fair, a lot of the people complaining about him will end up in those types of boxes themselves, including myself at times.’
He continued: ‘I find it absolutely incredible that this level of attention is now being paid to a Labour PM when I look at the absolute cronyism we watched for years under that lot.’
Speaking later to ITV News, Neville denied Labour had endured a ‘difficult’ start to their term in office.
‘I don’t think it’s been a difficult start at all, to be honest with you,’ he said. ‘I think, for me, what’s been difficult is the actual way in which it’s being portrayed.’
He added: ‘I wouldn’t say they’re doing well or not doing well, they’re 10 weeks in. What would you expect them to achieve in 10 weeks?
‘I mean, ultimately, if you become CEO of a new company, you’d just be bedding in and you’d be allowed a period of bedding in wouldn’t you?
‘It seems to me they’re being given a bit of a rough ride on certain things that the previous government didn’t seem to have been given a rough ride on.
‘Rishi [Sunak’s] £40million helicopter contract seems to have been forgotten about – we’ll concentrate on a few tickets for an Arsenal match.’
