Piers Morgan has unleashed a fiery tirade against Chancellor Rachel Reeves over her acceptance of free high-end concert tickets, sparking outrage amidst harsh government cuts. “Rachel Reeves helping herself to expensive freebie concert tickets whilst slashing benefits for millions of the poorest members of society is such a bad optic, only worsened by her pathetic ‘security’ excuse,” Morgan blasted on social media.
Morgan’s critique of the British Chancellor follows ongoing scrutiny after she confessed to taking £600 seats at a Sabrina Carpenter concert—just as she announced a severe 15% cut in Whitehall spending, threatening 10,000 civil service jobs. This revelation risks reviving last year’s public furore when it was exposed that the Prime Minister and his Cabinet were lavished with similar perks. Last year, after it came to light she had received £7,500 for outfits in opposition, Reeves vowed to stop accepting such gifts.
Yet, defending her latest lapse on the BBC, she stated: “I do now have security which means it’s not as easy as it would’ve been in the past to just sit in a concert, although that would probably be a lot easier for everyone concerned.” She added, “Obviously I’ll declare the value of them, but they weren’t tickets that you were able to buy.” The backlash was swift, with criticism even from within her own party ranks.
Labour MP Rachael Maskell condemned the move as indefensible. “Those who live in poverty will rightly question, as they struggle to get by, why those who are cutting their lifeline are in receipt of handouts. Not to recognize the inequity in this goes to the heart of the problem,” Maskell told the Mail. Adding to the controversy, Sir Keir Starmer, among other top politicians, had previously accepted and then reimbursed thousands in perks from similar high-profile events.
Reeves’ actions have reignited discussions on the appropriateness of such perks in times of governmental austerity. Attempting to mitigate the damage on “Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg,” Reeves reiterated her justification tied to security concerns, maintaining, “So, look, I took those tickets to go with a member of my family. I thought that was the right thing to do from a security perspective.”
She continued: “These weren’t tickets that you could pay for, so there wasn’t a price for those tickets. Obviously, I’ll declare the value of them but they weren’t tickets that you were able to buy.” In a recent interview, the Chancellor tried to play down Labour fears of “austerity” despite admitting “hard” decisions are coming in the Spring Statement. She was forced to deny crushing economic activity since the election by hiking taxes and talking down the country’s prospects.
