Treasury Minister Darren Jones has defended Chancellor Rachel Reeves for accepting clothing donations from a party donor.
Speaking to GB News, Jones said: “Parties in opposition, as the Conservative Party will now find out, rely on political donations to fund their activities. That’s the way it works.”
He emphasised that the donation was properly declared and transparent, contrasting it with the previous government’s conduct.
Jones explained: “This was a donation from a friend to the Chancellor to help cover the costs that she incurred performing her duties as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer during the election campaign, when she was on the road around the country.”
Treasury Minister Darren Jones explained that it is common for opposition parties
GB News
He added that such practices are common for opposition parties and stressed that the funding was not from parliamentary or ministerial budgets.
Rachel Reeves addressed criticism of Labour’s acceptance of freebies during morning interviews at the Labour conference in Liverpool.
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The chancellor defended her own acceptance of £7,500 worth of clothing donations from friend Juliet Rosenfeld.
Reeves told Times Radio: “Juliet and me have been friends for a long time, and she said to me about a year-and-a-half ago ‘I want to help you in the election campaign and the thing I’d really like to do is make sure that for big events and for the campaign trail, you’re smart and well turned out’.”
She acknowledged that “to a lot of people it looks a bit odd” but stressed it was only for the election campaign.
Reeves emphasised the importance of transparency, stating: “As long as things are declared properly so people can see if there’s any conflict of interest I think it’s fine.”
Isabel Webster said that she “can’t move past it”
GB News
Isabel Webster challenged Jones on the classification of clothing as an office expense, saying: “I can’t get my head around this, are clothes an office expense then?”
Jones responded by elaborating on the nature of office costs in opposition:
“Office costs in opposition are around the running of the office, for example, my boss, the Shadow Chancellor. There are lots of costs involved in that. You might hire staff, you might commission research, you might print publications. You might have travel costs when you go around the country.”
He added that in Reeves’ case, this included clothing for the campaign trail. Jones reiterated that all expenses were declared in line with rules and there was no suggestion of any breach.
Jones provided a comprehensive explanation of the situation: “Let’s just be very clear, this is not funded by parliamentary budgets. It’s not funded by ministerial budgets.
Rachel Reeves has faced criticism for accepting clothes
PA
“This was a donation from a friend to the Chancellor to help cover the costs that she incurred performing her duties as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer during the election campaign, when she was on the road around the country.”
He contrasted Labour’s transparency with the previous government’s conduct:
“That’s why it was transparently reported, which I might say is very different to the undercover work that journalists had to do to reveal the parties in Number 10 under the last government and these crony contracts that were given out during the Covid period to friends and donors of the Conservative Party.”
Jones concluded by emphasising that now the election campaign has finished, Labour is focusing on delivering promised changes and managing public finances.
