The Red Queen! Vic Starmer joins Sir Keir at Labour conference in ‘loaned’ £1,100 designer dress as PM makes leader’s speech to party faithful amid clothing and football freebies row _ Hieuuk
Victoria Starmer made a triumphal appearance at the Labour Party conference today, donning a £1,100 designer dress despite a furious row over clothing freebies.
Lady Starmer dazzled in socialist red as she joined her husband for his first speech to the party faithful in Liverpool as Prime Minister.
She wore a maxi ‘Echo’ dress by one of her favourite designers, Edeline Lee, having been in the front row for the Canadian-British creator’s London Fashion week show last week.
A spokesman for the brand said it had ‘loaned’ the garment and matching shoes to Lady Starmer from its ‘press sample collection’ for the event.
She wore a similar red dress by the designer for the same event last year, when her husband was leader of the opposition, and appeared to have recycled the same belt.
But it comes as she and Sir Keir, and several of his top ministers, face questions over their acceptance of money from a Labour donor to go towards clothes and a personal shopper.
Lord Alli gave money to the Starmers and Angela Rayner to upgrade their wardrobes, but they and Rachel Reeves have since said they will not take any more donations for outfits.
Lady Starmer dazzled in socialist red as she joined her husband for his first speech to the party faithful in Liverpool as Prime Minister.
She wore a maxi ‘Echo’ dress by one of her favourite designers, Edeline Lee
A spokesman for the brand said it had ‘loaned’ the garment to Lady Starmer from its ‘press sample collection’ for the event.
As well as joining Sir Keir on stage she had another prime seat for the performance
As the storm broke last week she took a front row seat at a London Fashion Week show.
Her glamorous entrance under the grey Merseyside skies was a fast departure from her dressed-down approach this morning, when she wore a T-shirt and jogging bottoms by a local brand as she joined Sir Keir for breakfast with party members in the conference hotel.
Keir Starmer launched a bid to reboot his fledgling premiership today as he begs Brits to stick with his ‘painful choices’ rather than go down the ‘road to nowhere’.
Senior Cabinet minister Pat McFadden claimed Sir Keir’s speech had ‘turned the page’ on the ‘freebies’ row that has dominated Labour’s conference.
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster told Sky News: ‘The critical argument at the heart of both the Chancellor’s speech yesterday and the PM’s today is we have to work through the legacy that we’ve had from the last government.
‘But if we do that, and we do it properly, then the future for the country is great.’
Asked about the row over Sir Keir’s lavish gifts from Labour peer Lord Waheed Alli, Mr McFadden added: ‘Today was a speech of substance that turned the page on that.’
Lady Starmer’s glamourous entrance under the grey Merseyside skies was a vast departure from her dressed-down approach this morning, when she wore a t-shirt and jogging bottoms by a local brand as she joined Sir Keir for breakfast with party members in the conference hotel.
This morning she wore ‘The Stevie’, a £36 plum-coloured organic cotton t-shirt from ‘slow fashion’ brand By Elleven, as they prepared for his major set piece address this afternoon.
She paired it with drawstring Suzi trousers from its Made in England collection as they joined Labour members and officials at the Pullman Hotel in Liverpool this morning, taking a booth for a very public breakfast.
It is the second year in a row she has worn the Liverpool brand’s clothes at the conference. Last year she wore one of its Green Organic hoodies. It confirmed she bought and paid for the outfit herself.
It comes as the conference is marred by a row over freebies accepted by Sir Keir, his senior ministers and Lady Starmer herself.
She was the recipient of clothes and services including a personal shopper paid for by Labour donor Lord Alli. As the storm broke this week she took a front row seat at a London Fashion Week show.
She wore a similar red dress by the designer for the same event last year, when her husband was leader of the opposition (pictured)
They joined Labour members and officials at the Pullman Hotel in Liverpool this morning, taking a booth for a very public breakfast.
But it comes as the conference is marred by a row over freebies accepted by Sir Keir, his senior ministers and Lady Starmer herself. She was the recipient of clothes and services including a personal shopper paid for by Labour donor Lord Alli.
Stories about Downing Street infighting and gifts for ministers are ‘squalls’ that will matter less to the public than the plans the Prime Minister is expected to announce today, minister Pat McFadden insisted this morning.
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster told BBC Breakfast: ‘As your viewers can probably tell, I’ve been around politics for quite some time.
‘There have been squalls like this in the past. I think what’s important is you work your way through them. We’ve got an important chance to do that today.
‘We’ve got our first speech today from a Labour Prime Minister to a Labour Party conference for 15 years, so it’s a really big moment where the Prime Minister can set out his agenda for the future, which in the end will affect people’s lives much more than any rows in Downing Street or any of the stories that have been in the newspapers the last couple of weeks.’
No 10 has declined to confirm the total value of the gifts to Lady Starmer, nor say when Lord Alli started to pay for her clothing.
The Prime Minister’s wife has been praised for her style, with outfits by designer brands including Me+Em, Needle & Thread and Edeline Lee.
There are no recent records of prime ministers declaring that their partners have been given clothes.
Gordon Brown’s wife Sarah rented high-end outfits for key events, as did Boris Johnson’s wife Carrie.
It is the second year in a row she has worn the Liverpool brand’s clothes at the conference. Last year she wore one of its Green Organic hoodies. It confirmed she bought and paid for the outfit herself.
Sir Keir is facing a major backlash to his decision to accept free tickets to football matches with almost two thirds of Brits saying he should not take them.
The Prime Minister and members of his senior team are under fire for taking tickets to Arsenal games and Taylor Swift concerts at the same time as they prepare a Budget tax raid.
Sir Keir has defended his decision to accept corporate hospitality at the Emirates on security grounds, while Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said it was hard to turn down gig tickets when her daughter is a Swiftie.
Some 64 per cent of all voters polled by YouGov say it is unacceptable for them to do so, including a majority (53 per cent) of Labour voters. Just a quarter of voters thought it was ok.
