PM accepted £20,000 so his boy could study

He is, I think.
No reason to think otherwise, so far.

I hope Starmer makes a better fist of governing the UK than he has shown in accepting freebies and handling the malign criticism from the Tory gutter press. We are going to judge him on NHS access and the cost of living and that is what he should focus on.

So true MissA!

Which shows good reason to invest in education for children, whatever their circumstances.

Grantanow

A lot of kids are lucky to have a corner of the kitchen table to study while life goes on around them. Starker junior is very lucky to have a benefactor. Most kids don't have that.

When I went to school one of the brightest girls who got the most O levels lived in a cottage with an outside toilet and no electricity. She did her homework and revision by the light of an oil lamp. She also had to cycle about 4 miles to and from the nearest bus stop every day.

True Iam

In addition, many of us do know that huge numbers of children have inadequate homes/temporary accommodation and nowhere to study. We are not all ignoring this or blind to it.

That said, as parents we usually try to protect whatever we can for our children. We don't normally add extra stresses into an exam period if we can avoid it.

Surely this is true whatever your socio-economic situation.

I'm totally uninterested in the PM's children, as an adult, and certainly not as some sort of lever to gain points.

Perhaps his son went off back packing around Europe after the exams, like Kirsty's son?! Especially as dad gave up his summer holiday to work.

Starmer has always tried to keep his children out of the public eye. They’re at those difficult ages that any of us who have brought up children or worked with them will be aware of.
The election was called at short notice so media attention on KS and his family increased. The mail printed the son’s name despite requests from his parents not to do so. I’m in no doubt that journalists are desperate to find negative stories about these children
Most of us will have friends in similar earnings brackets, with some better off, some not so fortunate. One of my friends lent me their holiday cottage so I could take family members having a tough time for a much needed break, I don’t see this borrowing of a friend’s house as any different

I'm sure he'll be fine.
He appears to have caring parents, and that's all most children need, whether they're rich or poor.

Presumably, unless someone comes up with a reason why not, his parents are good ones.

I think his mates would feel pretty sorry for him. Covent Garden is hardly "cool" compared with gritty Islington. Bet he couldn't wait to get back after his last exam!

Who is "they"?
The public?

I've found children today don't tend to give others a hard time as we did back in the day.

They're too busy doing their own thing.

They will give him a hard time when he returns to school.

I'm thinking we could have a case of child cruelty here...

Poor kid, being yanked away from familiar surroundings, and presumably friends, to have to catch the Picadilly Line to Leicester Square, then the Northern Line out to Camden for school, probably 40 minutes, just to sit his exams.

growstuff

Allira

eazybee

The cost of the accommodation was estimated at £20,000 when declared. That makes it some gift.

Does he have gold taps in all the bathrooms?

You don't get much for £20,000 in Covent Garden, which is where the apartment is situated.

This one is available for £14,551pcm, if anybody wants somewhere.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/151809656#/?channel=RES_LET

Presumably it was not being inhabited by tenants at the time.

Oh! I have a friend who lives there.
You're right, some of the property there is not much at all, theirs is nothing like that one which is very large and rather posh.

Allira

eazybee

The cost of the accommodation was estimated at £20,000 when declared. That makes it some gift.

Does he have gold taps in all the bathrooms?

You don't get much for £20,000 in Covent Garden, which is where the apartment is situated.

This one is available for £14,551pcm, if anybody wants somewhere.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/151809656#/?channel=RES_LET

Presumably it was not being inhabited by tenants at the time.

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/lord-waheed-alli-labour-starmer-donor-gifts-glasses-b2617302.html

Want to know about Lord Alli? Read the link above.

Seems like a “good guy” on the surface with absolutely nothing to gain and everything to give!

theres no such thing as a free lunch.

I think you are wrong about this,
Silverlining - lots of us have friends (and even strangers) go way out of their way to be helpful.

Free lunches are abundant in my experience. People are generally kind, empathetic and want to be helpful.

People help others.
And even wealthy people and politicians need help sometimes.

Harris27

Well this is food for thought. Yes I voted labour as I’m typically working class and proud. But disappointed like others about the withdrawal of the winter fuel payment I hope he can persuade me he’s going to do some good for the pensioners with the triple lock and in other areas. Time will tell.

👏👏

Allira

maddyfour

Oh, according to the link given, it was the dear Lord Alli again.
Something very suspect about him I think.

He has fingers in several pies, doesn't he!
What's he hoping for in exchange? And who is he anyway?

I feel sorry for the children of politicians, journalists should leave them alone to get on with their lives.
I hope Starmer Jnr did well in his GCSEs.

Lord Allí is a committed Labour supporter and activist, he has been a Labour Peer for 26 years. He is very wealthy and already has a seat in the House Of Lords so I don’t see what people think his motive is other than supporting Labour Party members and wanting them to get into government . Would people be this vociferous if Lord Sugar, for example, had offered a place for a politician’s child to study? Nobody said a word when Boris Johnson tried to get a tree house worth £150,000 for his toddler son built at Chequers and funded by a donor

The daily onslaughts on Keir Starmer and now his family from the right wing media are disgusting. I hope they are this diligent and vociferous when the COVID inquiry is complete and published.

I suppose the question is, lucky or due to his father's hard work?

It's an oft spoken sentiment here, that people have got where they are through their own hard work.

I expect it's probably exactly the same for Starmers son.

He is the perfect example of how hard work pays off, surely?

His father did well and is wealthy, so his dad mixes with other wealthy people.

It would be double standards to think otherwise.

The difference is KS has declared all this stuff. Johnson didn’t declare all his freebie holidays and the taxpayer forked out for a lot of his excesses- gold wallpaper and the like.

Grantanow

A lot of kids are lucky to have a corner of the kitchen table to study while life goes on around them. Starker junior is very lucky to have a benefactor. Most kids don't have that.

Yes, he is extremely lucky.

However, that doesn’t mean he wasn’t nervous, that the election didn’t disrupt both his and siblings lives and journalists can be extremely intrusive.

I’ll criticise them all quite happily.
Me too.
And praise them if they get it right!