Being an Arsenal fan creates problems for UK Prime Minister
Sir Keir Starmer, the prime minister of the United Kingdom, has received heat for receiving corporate hospitality from Arsenal. Starmer is a long-term fan of the Gunners and was previously a season ticket holder. Nevertheless, the politician has since given up his usual seats at Emirates Stadium after he assumed office earlier this summer.
Starmer claims that because of his high-profile position, he can no longer sit in the stands. Arsenal has attempted to accommodate the politician by offering him two seats in the corporate area of the arena. He was most recently spotted inside the stadium for the club’s opening Premier League match of the season against Wolves.
Kier Starmer says taxpayers would pay ‘a fortune’ if he remained in normal Arsenal seats
The prime minister has since told the BBC that elevated security costs to the public essentially forced the move. Starmer would not reveal exactly where his new seats are located in the interview. He did, however, defend the decision by asserting that UK taxpayers would have to pay “a fortune” in extra security if he were to remain in his regular seats.
In turn, Starmer claims that accepting the corporate seats was a “perfectly sensible arrangement.” Starmer went on to claim that it would be “pretty self-indulgent if I said I’m not going to move from the stands, even if it costs the taxpayer more money.”
“Frankly, I’d rather be in the stands, but I’m not going to ask the taxpayer to indulge me to be in the stands when I could go and sit somewhere else,” stated Starmer. “That’s for me, a common sense situation.”
The prime minister is expected to come up with an approximate value of the two corporate seats to declare the benefits on his official register.
Fellow Labour leaders defend Starmer’s decision
While Starmer’s move to a safer area of the stadium seems reasonable, some have scrutinized the decision. The prime minister has recently been the target of criticism by rivals for receiving excessive gifts. A report by Sky News has projected that Starmer has received around $142,000 in gifts over the last five years. This figure is apparently significantly higher than another other Member of Parliament (MP) during this timeframe.
Fellow Labour Party MP Jess Phillips, however, has claimed that the issue is blown out of proportion. “I don’t think it’s important at all,” Phillips recently told Sky. “I think you have to consider how people in the country feel about things, I have to say, nobody has mentioned it to me, I haven’t had a single email about it.”
Phillips went on to add that people are focusing on the wrong issues in the country.
“I have had lots of emails about people not being able to get on a housing list. And so, I’d really, really much rather focus on that and for Keir Starmer to focus on getting house building going.”
Former deputy Labour leader Baroness Harman also defended Starmer’s move to the corporate section of Emirates Stadium. Nevertheless, Harman also urged the prime minister to ease up on receiving other special gifts. This includes previously getting tickets to a Taylor Swift concert. The value of the seats to the concert were reportedly worth around $5,300.
PHOTOS: IMAGO