UK’s Starmer fails to get transport minister Louise Haigh to plead guilty and resign – Firstpost

Britain’s transport minister Louise Haigh has dealt a further blow to Prime Minister Keir Starmer by resigning after pleading guilty to misleading police with a workplace mobile phone years ago.

His resignation, the first from Starmer’s senior ministerial team since winning a landslide election victory in July, followed media reports that he had been convicted and given parole in 2014 for what he described as a “mistake”.

In his letter to Starmer dated Thursday, November 28, Haigh said he told police he had lost his mobile phone during a “terrible” mugging on a night out in 2013, but later discovered the phone was still at home. .

In his resignation letter, shared by Starmer’s office earlier on Friday, Haigh said he stood down because the issue would “inevitably prevent this government from delivering on its work and the policies to which we are committed”.

“I remain fully committed to our political project, but I now believe that this will be best achieved by supporting you from the external government,” he said.

Starmer thanked Haigh for his work and everything he has done “to deliver this government’s ambitious transport agenda”.

The opposition Conservative Party said Haigh “did the right thing” but questioned why Starmer appointed him when he was clearly aware of fraud.

“The onus is now on Keir Starmer to explain this apparent failure of judgment to the British public,” a Conservative Party spokesman said in a statement.

Haigh’s resignation is a further blow to the Labor leader, who has seen his party’s approval ratings fall since July.

Immediately after coming to power, the Labor government came under criticism for limiting fuel payments to the elderly and taking donations for clothing and accommodation.

His government has since angered farmers over changes to inheritance tax rules and many businesses have rebelled against Labour’s first budget, in which the Chancellor of the Exchequer increased taxes mainly on firms and the wealthy.

Haigh, who was first elected in 2015 and held senior positions under both Starmer and left-wing former Labor Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, said the phone incident was a “genuine mistake” and that he gained “nothing” from it.