The rules on what gifts MPs can accept from donors
It's the 'system we have', says Labour cabinet minister, as campaigners call for overhaul of the ministerial code

Labour's conference was supposed to be a moment of triumph, celebrating a return to government after 14 years in opposition and a massive Commons majority that should guarantee the party a decade in power.
Instead, the build-up to the annual get-together in Liverpool has been dominated by rows over cutting the winter fuel allowance, behind-the-scenes briefings and infighting and, most damaging, revelations that the prime minister, chancellor and senior cabinet members had accepted hundreds of thousands of pounds' worth of gifts from donors before and after entering government.
What did ministers accept?
Keir Starmer has defended accepting more than £100,000 worth of donated gifts since he became leader of the opposition in 2020 – two and a half times more than any other MP – including football and concert tickets, as well as clothes for him and his wife Victoria.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The London Evening Standard said Starmer has specifically faced "questioning and criticism" for accepting gifts from Waheed Alli, after it emerged the Labour peer had been given a temporary Downing Street security pass despite having no formal government role.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves accepted £7,500 of clothing donations from a widow of a former Labour donor. While denying any wrongdoing or conflict of interest, she acknowledged that voters might "find it a little bit odd that politicians get support for things like buying clothes".
Lisa Nandy, the culture secretary, told Sky News that "all MPs take gifts and donations in kind. That's the system we have in the UK. The important thing is that we are really transparent about the way in which that happens."
What can MPs accept and what can't they?
The ministerial code, which details the conduct expected of government ministers, says that "no Minister should accept gifts, hospitality or services from anyone which would, or might appear to, place him or her under an obligation". It then adds that the "same principle applies if gifts etc are offered to a member of their family".
If a gift or invitation is given to a minister "in their Ministerial capacity" then that gift becomes government property and need not be declared in the Register of Members' Interests. A gift up to the value of £140 can be kept by the minister; more expensive gifts should be handed over to their department.
Any gifts received in their capacity as a constituency MP or simply a member of a political party "fall within the rules relating to the Registers of Members’ and Lords’ Interests".
Lobbyists insist they are "not trying to corrupt or influence politicians" by offering them hospitality, said The Times, and instead are seeking to "build a relationship and to help them understand key issues coming up in their sector".
What do they have to declare?
Chapter 1 of Parliament's Code of Conduct explains the rules around the "Registration of Members' Financial Interests". Members must register any "gifts, benefits or hospitality" with a value of over £300 that they receive from a UK source, within 28 days. They must also register multiple benefits from the same source if these have a value of more than £300 in a calendar year. This also applies to gifts from donors registered outside the UK.
Members must register political donations of more than £1,500, "either as a single donation or in multiple donations of more than £500 from the same source in a calendar year".
While this applies to all MPs, since 2015 government ministers have not had to register anything they receive "in their ministerial capacity". Such interests are meant to be published in the government's "transparency returns", which include no details, appear roughly every three months and are "often late and incomplete", wrote Labour MP Chris Bryant in The Guardian in 2022.
"This is bonkers. It means there is less transparency for ministers than for other MPs."
Should the rules be changed?
Senior Labour figures have been quick to defend the practice of accepting gifts from donors even as the likes of Starmer, Reeves and Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner have announced they will no longer accept free clothes in a bid to move on from the row.
There are now "growing calls for reforms to the way MP gift declarations work and for an overhaul of the ministerial code", said The Observer.
The Times said there is a "perception problem" over such gifts, and campaigners warn that MPs risk a "conflict of interest when they take them from individuals, businesses or industry bodies whose interests they may end up voting on".
Susan Hawley, from Spotlight on Corruption, which wants reform of the declarations system and an overhaul of the ministerial code, said it is a "good example of the Westminster bubble, where everyone is doing it without really thinking through how it looks to the wider public.
“The country is at a bad time, everyone is going to have to make sacrifices. It does not look right if politicians making some of the decisions are having nice freebies."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Protein obsession is oversaturating the health food space
Under the Radar Some experts say that fiber is now the most important macro to focus on
By Justin Klawans, The Week US
-
RFK Jr.'s focus on autism draws the ire of researchers
In the Spotlight Many of Kennedy's assertions have been condemned by experts and advocates
By Theara Coleman, The Week US
-
Codeword: April 23, 2025
The Week's daily codeword puzzle
By The Week Staff
-
Conspiracy theorists circle again following RFK file release
The Explainer Both RFK and his brother, President John F. Kennedy, have been the subjects of conspiracies
By Justin Klawans, The Week US
-
UK-US trade deal: can Keir Starmer trust Donald Trump?
Today's Big Question White House insiders say an agreement is 'two weeks' away but can Britain believe it?
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK
-
Did China sabotage British Steel?
Today's Big Question Emergency situation at Scunthorpe blast furnaces could be due to 'neglect', but caution needed, says business secretary
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK
-
Low-cost airline faces backlash after agreeing to operate ICE's deportation flights
The Explainer The flights will begin out of Arizona in May
By Justin Klawans, The Week US
-
What is Starmer's £33m plan to smash 'vile' Channel migration gangs?
Today's Big Question PM lays out plan to tackle migration gangs like international terrorism, with cooperation across countries and enhanced police powers
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK
-
The history of Guantanamo Bay detention camp
The Explainer Trump wants to use the Cuban outpost as a deportation way station
By Joel Mathis, The Week US
-
The tribes battling it out in Keir Starmer's Labour Party
The Explainer From the soft left to his unruly new MPs, Keir Starmer is already facing challenges from some sections of the Labour Party
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK
-
Are we on the brink of a recession?
Today's Big Question Britain's shrinking economy is likely to upend Rachel Reeves' Spring Statement spending plans
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK