Is the shine coming off Saint Starmer?
Political Fix
Financial Times
4.2 • 1.2K Ratings
🗓️ 20 September 2024
⏱️ 29 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
A growing controversy around Lord Waheed Alli’s donations to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and his wife Victoria risks tarnishing the new government, while propelling the normally discreet Labour donor into the public eye. Lucy Fisher discusses the saga with Political Fix regulars Stephen Bush and Jim Pickard. Plus, the panel is joined by chief business correspondent Michael O’Dwyer as business leaders warn that the UK government’s tax-raising plans and negativity about its economic inheritance risk undermining its efforts to boost private sector investment.
Follow Lucy on X: @LOS_Fisher, Stephen @stephenkb, Jim @PickardJE, Michael @_MODwyer
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Presented by Lucy Fisher. Produced by Tamara Kormornick with help from Leah Quinn. The broadcast engineers were Rod Fitzgerald and Andrew Georgiadis. The executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Audio mix and original music by Breen Turner. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BP is working to bring more lower carbon energy to the UK, like developing offshore wind, |
| 0:06.2 | and we're keeping oil and gas flowing from the North Sea. |
| 0:09.5 | It's and not all. That's how BP is backing Britain. |
| 0:13.8 | Well today we're mostly in oil and gas. |
| 0:16.2 | We increased the proportion of our global annual investment that went into our lower carbon |
| 0:20.4 | and other transition businesses from around 3% in 2019 to around 23% in 2023. V.P.com slash and not all. Hello, I'm Lucy Fisher and this is Political Fix from the Financial Times. |
| 0:38.0 | This week we're thinking, is Sakir Starma a bit, dare I say it, grubby? If it's a shocking question to ask, that's only |
| 0:47.4 | because the Prime Minister has enjoyed such a squeaky clean image to date. But are the |
| 0:52.1 | rounds this week a sign the sheen is wearing off? |
| 0:55.1 | With me in the studio to discuss at all our Stephen Bush. Hi Stephen, |
| 0:59.1 | Hi Stephen. Hi Lucy. And the F.T's Jim Picard. Hey Jim. |
| 1:01.8 | Hello. |
| 1:03.0 | Also in the show, a little later, our chief business correspondent Michael O'Dwyer |
| 1:06.6 | is going to pop into the studio to tell us what message the business community |
| 1:10.4 | has been giving the new Labour government. |
| 1:20.0 | This week there's been a sense that the shine has come off Kistama a bit, both over |
| 1:24.0 | donations, he's accepted from Lord Waheed Ali and over Sue Gray's pay packet. |
| 1:26.3 | Now we'll come on to Gray's pay shortly, but Jim you've been writing a lot about |
| 1:30.9 | this labor donor, Lord Waid Ali. Just tell us briefly who is he and why |
| 1:35.9 | there been such a row about what he's given to Kistama? |
| 1:39.9 | So Lord Wahid Ali is a media tycoon who's made money in not only media but also in finance |
| 1:46.1 | and in fashion who was put in the House of Lords by Tony Blair back in 1998, so he's been a labor |
... |
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