A Labour MP has come under fire for giving a parliamentary job to a party donor.
Outer York MP Luke Charters has appointed Owen Trotter, a local Labour donor and private equity investor, as his office manager.
Mr Trotter donated £7,921.75 to Labour just after the election in July and has given the party a total of £55,521.75 since 2019.
Chris Steward, leader of the Conservative group on York Council, said: “Luke Charters is the latest Labour MP to throw his morals down the toilet.
“Why on earth has he given a job in Parliament to a man who handed him almost £8,000?
“Pensioners across York will be appalled at the hypocrisy as they lose their winter fuel allowance while Luke Charters gives out jobs to those who have donated to the Labour Party.
“Luke urgently needs to clarify whether Owen Trotter is being paid by the taxpayer in his role as office manager.
“We also need to know what process was followed in appointing him to this role, and whether the job was fully opened up to other candidates.”
It comes as Sir Keir Starmer‘s party has faced ongoing allegations over sleaze and cronyism.
The Prime Minister and senior Cabinet ministers have been under pressure for accepting lavish gifts such as sport and concert tickets.
Sir Keir was criticised over Labour donor Lord Alli, who gave him tens of thousands of pounds towards clothing and glasses, after it emerged he had a No 10 pass.
A YouGov poll of 2,084 Brits earlier this month found 59% said the Labour government is “sleazy”.
A Labour Party spokesperson said: “All donations are declared in the proper way in line with Parliamentary and Electoral Commission rules.”
