Starmer faces sleaze inquiry over aide ties and Labour Together funding

Conservatives have asked Parliament’s standards commissioner to open a sleaze inquiry into whether Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer breached the MPs’ code of conduct over his relationship with top aide Morgan McSweeney and for failing to declare support from Labour Together, the think-tank that helped his leadership bid.

McSweeney ran Starmer’s leadership campaign while serving as Labour Together’s director, and he is also reported to have given Starmer’s team access to extensive polling data paid for by donations to Labour Together that were not disclosed. Official records show Starmer did not declare any support from Labour Together in the Commons register, despite rules requiring MPs to register support worth more than £1,500.

Conservative chairman Kevin Hollinrake submitted a bundle of evidence to Parliament’s standards commissioner, Daniel Greenberg, who will assess whether there is a case to answer.

Labour Together has boasted about the instrumental role it played in helping Starmer win Labour’s leadership contest in 2020. The group has maintained close ties to Starmer’s team and has served as a fundraising and data resource for his broader political operation, a dynamic that critics say heightens questions about transparency around donors and support.

The controversy arises amid heightened scrutiny of MPs’ conduct and the operations of think tanks connected to political campaigns. The standards commissioner’s office will review the evidence package and determine whether there is a case to answer, with any further steps to be taken only if a formal inquiry is warranted.