'I only bet on the horses' says Keir Starmer as Labour leader responds to political betting scandal

The man likely to be the United Kingdom’s next prime minister voiced his approval of racing on Wednesday with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer declaring: “I only bet on the horses.”

Starmer was responding to a question about the growing political betting scandal surrounding Conservative candidates and officials betting on the date of the election, which has prompted investigations by the Gambling Commission.

On Tuesday, Kevin Craig became the first Labour candidate to be embroiled in the scandal as he was suspended by the party for allegedly betting against himself to win the Central Suffolk and North Ipswich seat. This followed the suspension of two Conservative candidates for placing bets on when the election would be called, as well as investigations into two Conservative Party officials and a member of prime minister Rishi Sunak’s close protection team.

The growing scope of the scandal has led to calls for politicians to be banned from betting on politics, although Starmer said he was opposed to restrictions. 

Speaking to broadcasters during a campaign stop, Starmer said: “I've never placed a political bet, I only bet on the horses. So that's where I stand on this.

“I don't think that we should be lured into thinking this is a problem with the rules, it's a problem with politicians. You can see from the reaction of the public that they think straight away that what's been going on in the Tory party, this sort of insider dealing, is wrong. 

“That's where the problem is, it’s politicians who are wrong and it's a leadership problem – how do you act when something comes to light?”

Starmer’s comments came as the UK closes in on the July 4 election, after which Labour is expected to replace the Conservatives in government for the first time since 2010.

Even before the scandal around political bets emerged, gambling had been a political issue with the Conservatives publishing a white paper on proposed reforms to the sector last April.

Among the proposals were the formal introduction of affordability checks, since renamed financial risk checks, where punters would potentially be asked for sensitive financial information in order to continue betting if hitting certain loss thresholds.

Sir Keir and Lady Starmer have regularly attended the St Leger at DoncasterCredit: Edward Whitaker

Checks on punters had already been implemented by bookmakers even before the white paper was published, leading to a significant hit to the finances of British racing. A pilot of ‘frictionless’ checks is due to be launched by the Gambling Commission in August.

Labour pledged in its manifesto to work with the gambling industry on reforms to regulation to “ensure responsible gambling” and “strengthen protections”. In addition, Stephanie Peacock, who had been the party’s shadow sports minister before the election was called, said during a debate in October that “the future of racing must be protected for generations to come”.

Peacock was among a number of Labour MPs who visited Doncaster racecourse last year as guests of Arena Racing, while Starmer has frequently attended the track’s biggest event, the Betfred St Leger, with his wife, Victoria.

Lady Starmer, who is from Doncaster and works for the NHS, is understood to have a passion for horseracing and has a picture of her hometown racecourse hanging on a wall in her family home, according to The Daily Telegraph.

Read these next:

Affordability checks: has the interim code made the situation better for punters? 

Revealed: Gambling Commission survey demonstrated considerable opposition to affordability checks 

Election date betting scandal: misusing inside information to deliberately gain an 'objectively improper advantage' is criminal 

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