“They’re all the same” is a political narrative that may sink governments.
It is a narrative Sir Keir Starmer vowed to show mistaken – promising a break from the psychodrama of the previous.
But it surely’s a story undermined by tales such because the one we revealed on Thursday: that months earlier than Louise Haigh turned an MP, she was pleading responsible in a south London courtroom.
Inside 12 hours, she had resigned as transport secretary.
Or relatively, the prime minister and people round him had determined it was finest she stood down – and so she did.
Such a swift transfer to jettison a senior authorities determine is proof of sharper political decision-making.
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Had Downing Avenue stood by their cupboard minister, extra injury would have been inflicted by additional revelations round a photograph Ms Haigh is claimed to have supplied to the police of her allegedly stolen telephone and the suggestion that calls have been constituted of the handset within the hours after the reported theft.
That stated, there’s additionally proof that some failed to identify the hazard lurking on this decade-old story.
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‘Admirable’ for Haigh to resign
We obtained no reply.
Days after this, we went to the media workplace at Labour HQ, however no substantial response was forthcoming.
It was solely final week – after we had verified additional particulars referring to the conviction and guaranteed authorities sources that we’d be publishing them – {that a} assertion was obtained.
Regardless of quite a few e-mails and telephone calls and a number of visits to magistrates courts round London, nothing of substance has ever been obtained from the courts service relating to the itemizing or consequence of the case.
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Pic: PA
At one courtroom, it was urged {that a} document had been discovered however after confirming this associated to a “sitting MP”, we have been informed it could be referred to a extra senior supervisor earlier than any response was despatched.
Different businesses maintained they might not share something as a result of the conviction was categorised as spent.
So with information onerous to come back by by official channels, what precisely was recognized in authorities?
The given motive from Downing Avenue sources for Ms Haigh’s “resignation” was the gaps between what she had informed Sir Keir Starmer concerning the incident and what emerged on Thursday.
Her allies dispute this, saying she set all of it out to the celebration’s prime brass again in 2020.
Massive unanswered query
This brings us to an enormous and as but nonetheless unanswered query – and one pressed by Kemi Badenoch within the Commons on Wednesday – what did the prime minister find out about his transport secretary’s conviction when he gave her a seat on the cupboard desk in July?
Authorities sources aren’t being express, however placing collectively the nods, winks and non-denials, the likeliest endpoint seems to be that Sir Keir knew concerning the truth of the conviction, however didn’t know all of the circumstances round it.
This inevitably results in questions round how a lot he was informed, but in addition the extent to which this former prosecutor and people round him made enquiries into the claims.
However there’s another excuse – exterior of Louise Haigh’s obvious 2020 admission – why Sir Keir would, or ought to, have recognized what occurred.
Between 2021 and 2022, his chief of employees was somebody who labored alongside Ms Haigh at Aviva on the time of the “stolen phone” incident.
Tories ‘punch the bruise’
As for the place this murky affair goes now.
The Tories will proceed to punch the bruise and attempt to make this a query of poor judgement on the a part of the prime minister.
In response, there’s some proof of Labour beginning to undertake a extra muscular technique.
Within the chamber on Wednesday, Sir Keir identified that two former Tory prime ministers had damaged COVID guidelines and obtained fines.
A Labour supply adopted up saying “if the Conservatives want to have a row about the extent of their criminality while in Downing Street, that’s fine by us”.
Within the tit-for-tat world of Westminster, there could also be logic in attempting to color the Tories as the larger crooks.
However amongst an exhausted citizens sick of scandal and level scoring, it would appear like one thing else.
“They’re all the same.”
