The Labour government’s u-turn on freebies, its disclosure last night that it will no longer accept donations for clothes, is an admission that it has got it wrong. But ‘wrong’ in which sense of the word? Wrong in that they admit that they committed an error, or wrong in that they have behaved immorally? Their language would suggest very much the former.

Nearly two-thirds of all voters say Starmer’s decision to accept freebies for his wife was unacceptable

Keir Starmer’s allies concede that there was a ‘perception’ issue after the Prime Minister accepted clothing worth and spectacles together worth more than £18,000. This has been accompanied by similar gifts accepted by Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, and Angela Rayner, the deputy prime minister. Starmer, Reeves and Rayner all made clear last night that they will stop taking donations for clothes now that they are in office.

On its front page this morning, the Times says this u-turn represents ‘a significant reversal by Starmer’. But is it really? This decision will only apply to clothing and glasses, not to hospitality and other similar donations. This distinction is being made, no doubt, because the clothes donations have generated the greatest outrage, and presumably, the........

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