“Labour Party cronyism”, where have we heard those words before?
Cronyism is nothing new new in Westminster, but when Tony Blair came to power in 1997 he was to make himself and the Labour Party synonymous with the concept.
The term “Tony’s Cronies” emerged in British politics and media to describe individuals perceived to have gained influential positions due to their personal relationships with Prime Minister Tony Blair, during his time in office from 1997 to 2007.
Many such “cronies” received life peerages or key public roles, allegedly based on their friendship with Blair rather than their qualifications or achievements.
The phrase was initially coined by the Conservative Party following their defeat in the 1997 general election and was consistently used in the media to criticise Blair’s approach to appointments throughout his tenure.
The term became a symbol of the broader debate over political patronage and the meritocracy within Blair’s government, reflecting concerns about the influence of personal connections in British public life.
A House of Commons Committee, in July 2003, recommended that Blair be stripped of his power to appoint his friends and Labour cronies to influential public posts.
The Committee referred to a “closed shop” that gave Mr Blair and his ministers the right to make personal appointments to some of the most powerful posts, such as Greg Dyke – who had donated £55,000 (about $91,000) to the Labour Party over five years – being appointed director general of the BBC.
Same old, same old.
Therefore it should come as no surprise that within weeks of Keir Starmer taking up residence in 10 Downing Street, Labour Party history begins to repeat itself.
Sir Keir Starmer’s “biggest personal donor”, TV mogul Lord Waheed Alli, – described by Politico as “an original ’90s Blairite” – who led Labour’s fundraising for this year’s general election, was reportedly given a security pass to Downing Street, the Times reports.
This would give Lord Alli, who has personally given some £500,000 to the Labour Party, unrestricted access to No 10.

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He has also been generous towards Angela Rayner, the deputy prime minister who, reportedly, during a holiday to New York, stayed in a flat he provided, and has separately received more than £20,000 from him.
David Lammy, the foreign secretary, and Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, have also been given support.
He appears to have already organised a post-election reception in the Downing Street garden with others who helped to bankroll its campaign.
Somewhat ironically, the Prime Minister gets to choose which MPs will become the House of Commons’ “guardians against sleaze” as members of the Committee on Standards in Public Life.
What is particularly worrying, however, is that at the time of writing Keir Starmer personally chooses the watchdog that oversees M15 and M16, the Intelligence Services Commissioner, who has access to the most highly sensitive information… What could possibly go wrong?
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