In an unexpected dig at Chancellor Rachel Reeves, Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook said he does not ‘personally think it’s appropriate’ to take freebie tickets to gigs
A government minister appears to have taken a savage swipe at Rachel Reeves’ acceptance of free tickets to a Sabrina Carpenter concert at the O2 arena.
In an unexpected dig at the Chancellor, Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook said he does not “personally think it’s appropriate” to take freebie tickets to gigs at the venue, which is in his London constituency of Greenwich and Woolwich. The Labour MP added that he had received “zero” free tickets for events at his local venue.
Ms Reeves is facing criticism over her decision to take free tickets to the show ahead of imposing cuts to spending, including the benefits bill, as she seeks to balance the books. She has said her security is the reason for accepting the hospitality, for herself and a family member, and said she would declare their value to parliamentary authorities.
READ MORE: Who is Rachel Reeves – first female Chancellor and Sabrina Carpenter fan ahead of Spring Statement
Asked about the row on Tuesday, housing minister Mr Pennycook told LBC: “I don’t personally think it’s appropriate. If I want to go to a concert at the O2 I’ll pay for it. But individual MPs, individual ministers make their own decisions. I think that the important thing is that everything is declared and above board, so individual people can make their choices as to whether they think it’s appropriate to take tickets on occasions. I personally haven’t done, as I said, at the O2, and wouldn’t do.”
It follows Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander yesterday failing to back the Chancellor over the freebies row. She said she was too busy to attend concerts, telling Times Radio she had to “prioritise my time” and “haven’t taken any tickets, to be honest, since I was elected in (July)”.
The Daily Mail also reported that Ms Reeves declared receiving tickets worth £276 for the National Theatre on London’s South Bank in December.
The latest freebies row comes after Labour became embroiled in a scandal over ministerial donations during its first months in power. At the time Keir Starmer ended up paying back more than £6,000 worth of gifts and hospitality he received after becoming Prime Minister. The repayments covered the cost of six Taylor Swift tickets, four to the races and a clothing rental agreement with a high-end designer favoured by his wife, Victoria.
But the PM did not repay football tickets. He defended his acceptance of corporate hospitality from Arsenal football club, citing security as his reason for doing so, similar to Ms Reeves.
He also tightened hospitality rules for ministers to ensure better transparency about what was being donated following the backlash. The new code introduced last year did not ban ministers from accepting donations but does now require them to consider the “need to maintain the public’s confidence”.
Yesterday Mr Starmer appeared to back the Chancellor, with Downing Street saying the Prime Minister “supports all of his ministers making their own judgments” in relation to accepting hospitality within ministerial rules. Ms Reeves is paid £67,505 as Chancellor on top of her £91,346 MP’s salary and previously said she would not accept clothing from donors after revelations that she had received £7,500 worth of clothes in opposition.
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