In London, calls are growing for an inquiry into whether it is appropriate for Keir Starmer’s director of communications to hold a stake in a lobbying firm while discussing politics with one of its consultants. Tim Allan, a key aide to the prime minister, has retained a minority shareholding in Strand Partners—a situation critics argue could amount to a conflict of interest.
Allan does not receive any income from Strand, but he has not sold his stake. Among the firm’s clients are the British Horseracing Authority, the energy companies Ovo Energy and Cadent Gas, as well as Netflix.
He is also friends with Tom Baldwin—a journalist, Starmer’s biographer and a former Labour adviser—who now works as a senior consultant at Strand Partners. According to Sky News, several sources confirmed that Allan and Baldwin discussed politics even after Allan moved into the prime minister’s office. Labour officials insist that any suggestion Allan used his role to benefit Strand is “categorically false.”
Colleagues of Baldwin say he focuses primarily on journalism and does not take part in the firm’s lobbying or public-facing work, limiting his involvement to speaking engagements for corporate clients.
Sources emphasise that Baldwin and Allan do not discuss matters related to Strand Partners’ business, and Allan has committed to receiving no dividends and playing no role in the company’s management. In early September, immediately after moving to the prime minister’s office, he stepped down as chairman of the board.
Even so, Strand Partners’ links to Downing Street have prompted calls for scrutiny. Green Party leader Zack Polanski told Sky News: “I find it remarkable that someone at the very heart of operations on Downing Street still owns shares… It’s important to understand what safeguards have been put in place, whether they are adequate, and whether they pass a basic public test of common sense.”
Lisa Smart of the Liberal Democrats added: “Today I wrote to the Cabinet Secretary because this appears to be an obvious conflict of interest at the very centre of government. It cannot be the case that the executive director of communications owns shares in a lobbying firm and continues to engage with its senior consultants.”
Kevin Hollinrake, chair of the Conservative Party, called for a “full investigation,” saying the public must be confident there is “neither an actual nor a perceived” conflict of interest.
A Labour spokesperson said: “The claim that Tim Allan has acted in Strand’s interests while working in the prime minister’s office is categorically false. Tom Baldwin is an established journalist… Any contact with him occurred in his journalistic capacity and had no connection to Strand, its operations or its clients.”
A Cabinet Office spokesperson noted that there is a strict process for identifying potential conflicts of interest and applying safeguards, and that Allan “fully went through that process” before his appointment.
Strand Partners stressed: “Tom Baldwin is a journalist and the prime minister’s biographer. He does not engage with government bodies on behalf of Strand… Tim Allan received advice regarding his assets and has followed all recommendations. He derives no financial benefit from Strand and plays no role in our operational activities.”