16/18
Cronyism and Hypocrisy
Move: Starmer accepted £107,000 in gifts (e.g., Taylor Swift tickets, glasses) from Lord Alli, who got a Downing Street pass, while appointing Labour allies like Ian Corfield to civil service roles. 

This sparked a standards probe in 2024.

Criticism: 
Labelled “passes for glasses,” it’s seen as corrupt enrichment while preaching austerity—cutting pensioner aid but not his perks. 

The Guardian and X posts call it a betrayal of Labour’s working-class roots, risking trust when economic pain bites.

Counterpoint: 
Starmer repaid some gifts and claims transparency, but the optics clash with his anti-Tory sleaze rhetoric.