Lady Starmer noticed Taylor Swift twice – and didn’t pay a penny

Lady Victoria Starmer went to see global superstar Taylor Swift twice this summer – but did not have to pay a penny.

Having first gone to see the pop star at Wembley Stadium on June 21 with her husband, Lady Starmer then returned to the same venue for another concert without the Prime Minister on August 15.

It comes as the Starmers continue to be embroiled in a ‘wardrobegate’ row after the PM allegedly breached parliamentary rules by failing to declare that some of his wife’s high-end clothes were bought for her by his biggest personal donor, Lord Alli.

It has now emerged that Lady Starmer enjoyed two free Taylor Swift concerts – as nearly 700,000 fans paid to see the star across her eight performances at Wembley. 

There were several other high-profile Labour figures at the second gig she went to, including Health Secretary Wes Streeting, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson and Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy.

Darren Jones, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, was also among those to cash in with Taylor Swift freebies as he attended an August 20 concert after receiving four tickets and hospitality worth £3,400.

It means Cabinet ministers accepted more than £9,000 worth of Taylor Swift tickets in total over the summer, The Telegraph reports. 

Mr Jones, Mr Streeting and Ms Phillipson declared their tickets which have appeared on their register of members’ interests. No 10 insisted Lady Starmer’s second ticket was declared, but it has not yet appeared on her husband’s register of interests.

MPs are required to register gifts and donations within 28 days. 

It follows a major row over Lady Starmer’s acceptance of £5,000 worth of free clothing, garment alterations and personal shopping from Lord Alli.

Sir Keir has also accepted suits and spectacles worth £18,865 from the millionaire businessman.

The Labour peer recently faced questions over being granted a rare No10 security pass in a ‘passes for glasses’ row.

Neither Sir Keir or Downing Street have yet explained why he cannot afford to buy his own clothes, although allies have suggested the PM and Lady Starmer want to ‘look their best’ to represent Britain.

The Tories have demanded a probe by Parliament’s watchdog into the Starmers’ links with Lord Alli.

They said the couple’s acceptance of luxury gifts ‘beggars belief’ in the wake of the Government’s decision to strip millions of pensioners of winter fuel payments.

The row is embarrassing for Sir Keir, who was once dubbed ‘Mr Rules’, following his fierce criticism of Tory ‘sleaze’ under the last government.

It has also led to questions over why the PM, who had a stellar legal career before entering politics, seemingly could not pay for clothes despite earning £166,000 a year as premier.

But Sir Keir signalled he would continue taking gifts from Lord Alli despite a growing backlash.

The PM insisted there was a ‘massive difference between declarations and corruption’ as he faced questions over his alleged failure to register clothing given to Lady Starmer by the multimillionaire businessman within a designated time limit.

Speaking to journalists travelling with him on his visit to Rome, Sir Keir dismissed the idea that taxpayers should fund such expenses for PMs and their spouses.

But he suggested it would be ‘pushing it a bit far’ to deny him the right to enjoy certain kinds of hospitality.

Giving the example of football tickets, which the PM has regularly accepted as gifts, he said: ‘I’m a massive Arsenal fan. I can’t go into the stands because of security reasons.

‘Therefore, if I don’t accept a gift of hospitality, I can’t go to a game. You could say, ‘well, bad luck’. That’s why gifts have to be registered.

‘But, you know, never going to an Arsenal game again because I can’t accept hospitality is pushing it a bit far.’

The Sunday Times reported Lord Alli’s donations covered the cost of a personal shopper, clothes and alterations for Lady Starmer both before and after Labour’s general election win in July.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy later suggested that Sir Keir and his wife Victoria accept such gifts to ‘look their best’ for the country and rely on donations where other countries allow lavish, taxpayer-funded budgets for clothing for their leaders.

Asked whether British taxpayers should foot the bill for such expenses, the PM said: ‘I certainly don’t think we should have a budget for it at taxpayers’ expense.

‘In relation to gifts of any sort – there are different sorts of gifts – the rules are the framework.

‘All MPs get gifts. The rules then say, over a certain value, you’ve got to declare the gifts, so everybody can see what it was, how much it was, who it came from, and so that you and others can ask questions about it.

‘That’s a good framework. It’s the right framework.

‘That’s why I asked my team to make sure we’re complying with the framework, which is why they reached out for advice on what to do in this situation.

‘When they got further advice, they made the declaration. I think it’s really important everybody else follows the rules.’

Asked whether he would consider introducing an anti-corruption adviser, similar to the role carried out by former MP John Penrose under the Tories between 2017 and 2022, Sir Keir replied: ‘Well, there’s a massive difference between declarations and corruption.

‘Declarations (are) about declaring, so you and everybody else can see properly-made declarations.

‘I haven’t looked at that particular issue but I’m happy to look at it and come back to you at a future date.’

Downing Street has said it sought advice from the authorities on the issue of declarations and believed its conduct had been compliant ‘however, following further interrogation this month, we have declared further items’.

Lady Starmer this week attended London Fashion Week as she and Sir Keir faced the growing row over Lord Alli’s donations.

She was spotted in a polka dot Edeline Lee dress while her husband dodged questions over why they accepted free clothing worth thousands of pounds from Lord Alli.

She previously wore one of the designer’s dresses, worth £1,200, at Labour’s conference in October last year.

It emerged over the weekend weekend that Lord Alli paid for high-end clothes, a personal shopper and garment alterations for Lady Starmer.

But the gifts were not initially declared by Sir Keir in the register of MPs’ interests.

The Sunday Times reported the PM approached parliamentary officials last week to make a late declaration after being given updated advice on what needed to be registered.

Speaking to broadcasters on his visit to Rome, the PM dodged a question on whether he should be paying for his own clothes.

He said: ‘Let me shed a bit of light on this. It’s very important to me that the rules are followed.

‘I’ve always said that. I said that before the election, I’ve reinforced it after the election.

‘And that’s why, shortly after the election, my team reached out for advice on what declaration should be made so it’s in accordance with the rules.

‘They then sought out for further advice more recently, as a result of which they made the relevant declarations.

‘But for me it’s really important that the rules are followed.

‘That’s why I was very pleased my team reached out proactively, not once but twice, because it is very important that we have transparency, very important that you and others can see the rules are being followed.’

Speaking later at a press conference alongside Italian PM Giorgia Meloni, Sir Keir declined to say if he would stop receiving gifts from Lord Alli but said ‘the rules really matter’.

‘It was because I insist on the rules that my team reached out to make sure we were declaring in the right way under the rules and then reached out again to the appropriate authorities – basically asking for advice about what’s the appropriate way to deal with this in accordance with the rules,’ he added.

The Conservatives have written to, Daniel Greenberg, the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner to call for an investigation into Sir Keir’s failure to declare donations from Lord Alli.

It said: ‘In August it was then reported that Lord Alli had been given a temporary Downing Street security pass despite having no formal government role.

‘It was reported that he had played an active role in selecting Cabinet (and other) appointments.

‘It has now emerged that at the same time Sir Keir Starmer failed to declare a substantial gift of designer clothes, tailoring and a personal shopper bought for his wife by Lord Alli, both prior to the general election on July 4 2024 and following it.

‘There must be a full investigation into this scandal given this is not the first instance of the PM failing to declare donations and abiding by parliamentary rules.’

Downing Street said of Lady Starmer’s Taylor Swift tickets: ‘The Aug 15 tickets have been declared.’