The 100-Year Life Health Education and Government
In suspending Labour’s candidate for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich, Keir Starmer has inadvertently drawn attention to a bigger issue. Kevin Craig was dropped after it emerged he had placed a bet – against himself. With the Conservatives in the midst of the gamblegate scandal, Starmer acted swiftly rather than be accused of hypocrisy. But unlike other cases, this one involves no suggestion of acting on insider information. Fresh attention is now being paid to the fact that Craig, chief executive of the lobbying firm PLMR, was selected as Labour’s sole candidate for the seat after donating more than £150,000 to the party and some of its senior figures. After his suspension, Labour said it was returning £100,000 of his donation.
But Craig was not alone in giving to the party he was hoping to represent. Richard Parker, who last month stood successfully as the Labour candidate for West Midlands mayor, has donated £15,000 to two shadow cabinet ministers including Rachel Reeves, to whom he also gave a holiday valued at £1,400. Open Democracy, which first reported Craig’s donation, also revealed that the father of Patrick Spencer, the Conservative candidate for the same seat, had donated £250,000 to the Tories. Adrian Ramsay, co-leader of the Green Party, claimed both individuals were able to “effectively buy their seats”.
