UK (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Rachel Reeves faced backlash after accepting £276 in free theatre tickets at Christmas, with critics questioning her priorities amid financial concerns.
As reported by the Telegraph, reports suggest Rachel Reeves received £276 worth of theatre tickets over the Christmas period.
What do reports suggest about Rachel Reeves accepting free tickets?
Reports in the Daily Mail reveal that Rachel Reeves, who receives a £67,505 salary on top of her £91,346 MP earnings, declared receiving free tickets for two National Theatre productions: Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest and Neil Streatfield’s Ballet Shoes on December 27.
This comes just days after it was reported that Rachel Reeves had also accepted free tickets to attend a Sabrina Carpenter concert earlier this month.
Insiders indicate that she attended the Sabrina Carpenter concert in a corporate box at the O2 Arena, where some resale tickets were priced at around £1,000. The concert took place when she was under scrutiny from MPs over her £5 billion cuts to the benefits bill.
According to the ministerial gifts register, she was gifted a £200 Harrods hamper from the Qatari Embassy. Official records state it was “used for hospitality” rather than for her personal use or HM Treasury.
Controversy over politicians accepting freebies has sparked fresh debate after it was reported that Ms Reeves had accepted tickets to see Sabrina Carpenter perform.
A representative of Ms Reeves did not respond to queries about the free tickets to the National Theatre.
How much did Keir Starmer’s Taylor Swift tickets cost?
Reports revealed that last year, Keir Starmer and six other Cabinet ministers accepted tickets to Taylor Swift’s tour, with the total value reaching £23,328.
The Prime Minister faced backlash after reports suggested that he received thousands of pounds worth of free clothes and spectacles from Labour donor Lord Alli. Critics called Keir Starmer “Free Gear Keir.”
What did Conservatives say about Rachel Reeves’ freebies?
A Conservative source stated,
“Reeves needs to come clean and reveal how she came to get these freebies. She seems to be more focused on jollies than fixing the mistakes in her budget. It’s no wonder she needs an emergency budget.”
They continued,
“It’s a slap in the face to working people that she doesn’t seem fussed the economy is tanking, business confidence is shot and taxes are at record highs. It shows just how out of touch she is.”
What did Rachel Reeves say about free school meal cuts?
Rachel Reeves dismissed reports claiming ministers may scrap universal free school meals for young children, saying she “doesn’t recognise” them.
She stated,
“This government is rolling out free breakfast clubs in all primary schools from April. I don’t recognise those claims that the government are looking at means-testing free school meals.”
Ms Reeves said,
“In fact, this government are ensuring that all children get a good start to the day with a breakfast club, helping working parents and helping all children get a good start in life. That is what this government is determined to do after 14 years of Conservative failure.”
What did Rachel Reeves say about Trump’s trade tariffs?
Rachel Reeves expressed confidence that Britain could avoid Donald Trump’s trade tariffs, which are expected to be enforced soon.
She said,
“When our prime minister, Keir Starmer met Donald Trump a couple of weeks ago the US president said that he wanted to work on a deal and that’s what we are doing now. I believe in free and open trade. I want to reduce taxes.”
Ms Reeves added,
“We want to make progress. We do not want to see British exporters subject to higher tariffs and we want to see trade barriers fall right across the world.”