Commission dismisses Tory calls
Britain’s Electoral Commission has refused to reopen its inquiry into undeclared donations made to Labour Together while it was run by Morgan McSweeney, Sir Keir Starmer’s chief of staff.
The Conservatives had urged the watchdog to revisit the case ahead of Labour’s conference in Liverpool, citing fresh evidence they claimed pointed to further wrongdoing. But the commission said it had “thoroughly reviewed” the material and found no grounds for a new probe.
Fines already imposed
Labour Together was fined £14,250 in 2021 after failing to declare around £740,000 in donations between 2017 and 2020, when McSweeney led the group. The omission was later reported to the commission by his successor.
Officials said the original penalty was “significant” and proportionate to the offence. “We are confident the initial determination and sanction were appropriate. We are therefore not reopening the investigation,” a statement said.
Political backlash
Tory party chair Kevin Hollinrake accused McSweeney of deception and called for the release of “all their Morgan McSweeney files” to ensure transparency. He claimed the chief of staff had “dodged a criminal offence on a technicality”.
Labour dismissed the demands as “pathetic and desperate”, accusing the Conservatives of throwing “mud at the wall” in the hope of creating a scandal.
The commission is still considering whether to publish a full investigation report, as requested by Hollinrake.
Separately, the Tories have asked the parliamentary standards commissioner to examine whether Starmer should have declared support from Labour Together during his 2020 leadership bid, when McSweeney was briefly seconded to his campaign.
