Labour candidate suspended for betting against himself | LBC

[@vercoda9997]

That caller who took the time to ring in to say she doesn't understand what all the fuss is - Jesus wept. How much corruption is too much for her? What a thicko.

[@bobikdylan]

Did the Labour bloke break the law?

What got me was that she sounds like the wife of one of the MPs implicated 😂

[@SplashTasty]

@@bobikdylan learn the difference between a moral wrong and a legal wrong

[@dermolado3351]

Extremely a thicko or a clever client manipulator

[@blackgrape73]

@@bobikdylanno more or less than the conservatives. Both placed bets based on insider information.

[@rossmurray6849]

A Tory wouldn't call this betting. They would call it hedging.

[@alanfrost4661]

They would call it making money in their last hours

[@davidpar2]

It doesn’t matter what the tories would call it, it wasn’t a tory it was labour.

[@kevinwalton4538]

Starmers instant response makes Sunak look even more inept.

[@EdJames-tb9oz]

And how much will you bet that Rishi Sunak will attack Starmer over it in tomorrows debate? (It's ok we are not candidates or close police protection).

[@robertaskew3677]

No it doesn’t he had no choice after all the noise Labour made, do you honestly think people are daft lol

[@mattc971]

@@robertaskew3677 Around 20% of people according to recent polling.

[@shadowgophr5269]

Exactly this. It's the (as I'm coining it) "Cold soup" analogy. Imagine you're in a restaurant and you order some hot soup, then when it arrives it's cold. There are two reactions from the restaurant: 1. (The Starmer) Immediately apologize and replace the soup 2. (The Sunak) Spend 20 minutes denying the soup is cold whilst getting tetchy at the customer and shouting "Judge me on my soup record!!" In either case you start with a bad soup, but the true mark of a business (and a politician) is not what they do when everything's fine, but how they respond when it isn't.

[@chatham43]

@kevin A set up? He will make a bit of money and Starmer gets another brownie point.

[@joshuacampbell1625]

Tbf Starmer did exactly what he said he would

[@V4Now]

Credit it to him, it's less performance than the other way around.

[@EdJames-tb9oz]

And yet acting instantly and definitely will somehow be considered worse that Sunaks fortnight of doing nothing. And now the onslaught of right wing trolls.

[@meddylad]

No.... you mean Starmer had no choice to suspend him.... if this was the first betting claim, Starmer would be doing exactly what Sunak has done

[@EdJames-tb9oz]

@breamoreboy I was subtracting a week for Sunak to actually understand the information.

[@eddyd63]

@@meddylad The history of every single scandal that Sunak has been involved in has had him dither for days or weeks before making a decision. He's weak and indecisive in comparison to just about any leader from any party I can think of. Sunak being petrified to make a decision once again just typifies him as a politician, you don't get to say but.. but.. Starmer in this situation.

[@appalingbehaviour]

Final caller evidently not phased by corruption. Must be a Tory voter.

[@justinbennitt835]

I'd check to see if she started a brand new company in 2020 and received a government PPE contract 🙂

[@davidpar2]

Is “delusional” a requirement of being labour?

[@PersonalPariah]

Wow. That lady really doesn't want to hear about active corruption in a political party.

[@emckinley1977]

Starmer did what he said he would do, Also the guy didn't bet on something he was told in confidence , not the same at all

[@lordnoodle2146]

The problem is he can influence the outcome of the bet. Don't get me wrong it is very unlikely that he got in or that he would sabotage his campaign to win a bet but it is still very much illegal and considered inside trading. Atleast I think it is

[@dean8282]

the times news paper today' front page is Labour candidate in betting scandal. No mention of issue with betting for last two weeks when Tories were doing it! Pathetic

[@ryanseager123456789]

This is perfect for Starmer, he gets to put his money where his mouth is, and attack Sunak further saying "see how easy that was?".

[@jaybee4288]

No, it’s the worst thing he wanted. Just fuels the “all the same” arguments. Because let’s be honest they are.

[@andrewd4748]

​@@jaybee4288they literally are not, one is richer than the king, the other is a regular guy who plays football and his family work in the NHS. Keeping parroting they are all the same is so boring by this point.

[@andrewd4748]

@@AegisK of course it is about how rich they are, no one with a billion to their name can possibly understand the issues of daily life to someone on assured shorthold tenancy agreements, that is a ridiculous idea

[@jdizzle1779]

Betting on something you can influence is despicable and definitely shows that both labour and Tory are corrupt

[@User863-v8p]

Sounds like Lauren is a tory voter. Or a tory Councillor and Sunak has got her to ring in

[@woodysmith2681]

American here. Pete Rose, aka Charlie Hustle, has around 25% of baseball records dedicated to hitting; he was one of baseball's all-time pure hitters. He bet against himself as a player and as a manager. He will never be in the Hall of Fame. People were prepared to fight for him if he had only bet on his team to win. No one will fight for you if you bet on yourself to lose.

[@Tom_murray89]

Starmer has carried out exactly what he said he would do which makes the tories look inept

[@tonyflitton4407]

Just epic. These people can't help themselves can they. 😂

[@bendaniel2271]

The context is different with the Tory bets

[@BenJ2020]

​@bendaniel2271 it always is when you speak to lefty supporters.. I'll give you it's slightly different but this proves they are all the same its so corrupt just like expenses

[@PaulK-ve1pu]

This is clearly illegal but there is something so very British about this. "I'm backing myself to utterly fail".

[@neilbiggs1353]

Honestly though, it feels close to an insurance policy! If I don't get enough votes to get my deposit back, if I put x on my opponent then I still come out ahead....

[@bobikdylan]

But is it?

[@PaulK-ve1pu]

@@neilbiggs1353 This is the kind of entrepreneurship that Britain needs!

[@PaulK-ve1pu]

@@bobikdylan It is. No American would ever back themselves to lose.

[@bobikdylan]

@@PaulK-ve1pu lol!

[@coppershark1973]

So we are going to have a word with SUNAK betting against his own country when he was grifting on the trading floor?

[@sarcasticstartrek7719]

that last caller is particularly thick.

[@heidifuller9964]

At least the Labour candidate has been immediately suspended. Sunak dithered for a couple of weeks before acting.

[@kevinwalton4538]

THREE WEEKS!

[@dftfire]

And yet the Diane Abbott letter in a newspaper took over a year to conclude. Why couldn't that have been as quick?

[@V4Now]

​@@dftfirebecause in the end given her treatment and truth behind the scenes, she was right. (Completely inappropriately worded.

[@EdJames-tb9oz]

​@@dftfire Different things. There are specific gambling laws in the UK (insider trading) so actual Offences occur. The Abbot affair was internal and not involved in criminal law. Also a large chunk of that was Abbott not co-operating with the Labour disciplinary committee (which is not influenced by the Labour leadership by the way. The party changed that after the disastrous Corbyn tenure). How long did it take her to complete a Hour long eLearning module on anti-Semitism? Four months.

[@beepresent8636]

For what? What illegal activity took place? Are you saying he has insider knowledge that he will be elected...in that case all the constituency is also implicated? Come on tell us?

[@Winteriscoming...]

That caller and her husband, who "don't care" about the integrity, morality and potential illegality of politicians and officials is everything that's wrong with British society today. The TikTok generations' apathy when it comes to holding our representatives, officials and law enforcement to the highest possible standard is a miserable indictment of our society. I don't think its going too far to say they should reflect and feel ashamed of themselves.

[@nrosko]

Maybe I've become cynical but it wouldn't surprised me if that call was engineered by the Tory party.

[@JasonAtlas]

How did we go from middle aged elderly callers being apathetic to blaming the new generations? That's some top quaility lateral thinking.

[@Winteriscoming...]

@JasonAtlas I'm middle-aged. All ... and I mean all, of my peers Tiktok. So, not so much lateral thinking as observation. No one has raised the 'new generations', other than you, friend. Regardless, the point remains.

[@JasonAtlas]

@@Winteriscoming... I'd mistakenly assumed you meant generation z when you typed 'tiktok generation' my apologies.

[@Winteriscoming...]

@@JasonAtlas np 👍

[@az015]

Last caller is just shockingly baaaad

[@Martinbeef]

Starmer kept his word, unlike Sunak who is a terrible leader.

[@ascgazz]

Lauren, so what DOES matter to you if basic fraud doesn’t? 🤯

[@ehnowthen]

Imagine betting on yourself to lose

[@V4Now]

Fixed sports, many used to do it.

[@johnrussell3961]

It’s easier to manufacture a loss than a win. Just score an own goal.

[@Grz349]

I don’t think people were expecting him to win it anyway

[@jdizzle1779]

Just proves he has no faith in what he's pushing but does believe in making money over helping constituents

[@MrLantern2814]

If someone does not have the ethics not to place illegal bets, then why would you trust them to make public policy?

[@christopherspavins9250]

Betting against his own self-interest, the equivalent of British people voting for Brexit or throwing your own prize fight.

[@coppershark1973]

Or SUNAK betting against the UK ECONOMY.

[@arghjayem]

Or what about Jacob Rees-Mogg? Everyone seems to forget that Rees-Moggs investment firm effectively betted against the U.K. economy in 2019 to the profit of millions.

[@vomgrady]

We have had a hedge betting PM for ages. Disaster capitalism has been a major part of life for way too long. I'm happy to see the mould scrubbed away. That reminds me to clean my shower.

[@rufioh]

Betting against yourself could be “insider trading” if you purposely lose.

[@laidbackkodiak]

huh so a party leader can punish bad behavior right away. I thought they had to wait a few weeks first.

[@joelenzi6985]

It's totally crazy, but it's a different bet. The Tories have bet on a point of fact, he hasn't.

[@heliotropezzz333]

It's the equivalent of a sportsman voting against his own team. There's a risk they they could act to try and bring about the desired result.

[@cupguin]

Amazing how many people don't understand that. If you bet to win at least the expectation is you'll do your best rather than your worst.

[@heliotropezzz333]

@@cupguin I understand that but don't you know that this guy was betting that he'd lose, so the risk is that he'd do his best to lose. Not the desired position for a chosen Labour Party candidate.

[@ethzero]

I hope the improbable MP that's been suspended is sent an invoice buy the Labour party for their wasted deposit.

[@jakatta69]

Hardly the same thing. He put a bet on his own performance, he didn't bet using insider information. Plus Starmer dumped him immediately, Sunak did sweet FA for over a week.

[@nickkowal6537]

The obvious thing here is as a candidate he could "throw" the election by doing something dumb like betting against himself. He'd have been better aced to have bet on a win at least that way he couldn't realistically falsely affect the result

[@davidt5194]

Laura showing off the smoothness of her brain

[@IMBlakeley]

If he'd bet against himself a couple of years ago and for himself this week he might have been quids in either way.

[@henresearch]

Cost of living crisis. From top to bottom.

[@kevinjohnson3782]

What a pillock! Should resign.

[@davidwilson5381]

At last, someone describing the Tory behaviour correctly, insider trading!

[@ernieburns1]

Betting on yourself to lose is not the same as using inside information to bet. if that scandal hadn't been exposed then it would not have been seen as an issue.

[@cupguin]

How is it not? He had inside information, he could look at the specific polling Labour had done, he could have been in contact with Labour HQ, all internal information a normal person placing a bet wouldn't have. And arguably it's worse. While he can't guarantee the outcome he can affect it unlike the random MPs who bet on when the election would be. Unless they were advising Sunak they couldn't change the outcome. Betting on losing means you can do badly on purpose.

[@MIEJ4]

Shows just how everyday betting is these days. There is far too much of it around and particularly advertising of it seemingly everywhere with next to no care about the devastating consequences.

[@andreaconvalle6273]

it’s illegal to gamble on yourself according to the gambling rules

[@harleyv2evo]

Illegal if I remember rightly because he could effect the result. However he could bet on the other constituencies. I used to work for Coral bookmakers a while ago and I don't believe anything has changed since then.

[@philipshore6924]

One innocent explanation is he "hedged" his salary. As in, if he loses his job as an MP, he wins a sum of money to be used like a redundancy payment. It's quite a stretch though, most smart Tories have already left the party 😂

[@warkatwargaming2358]

Love how people are saying "well they didnt break the law". It's the principal, the oral obligation we would expect from our MPs. It deep rooted corruption where people can think they get away with it and because it not legally worng doenst mean its not wrong!

[@dean8282]

Not quite the same - does not have inside knowledge like Tories but still bad and needed action.

[@davidpar2]

“I’m shocked that labour is involved in a conflict of interest and doesn’t even believe in their own rhetoric” said no one ever

[@stevied667iswin]

Imagine what would happen if you suspended everyone who had a police investigation. They would have accusations from all over just so that they were then suspended from their party, which would lend credence to the nonsense claims.

[@starvingpeoplecantcomplain]

Betting against yourself is more a joke than anything else

[@Tooma1979]

Bet on himself to lose fantastic lol 😂 it would be funny if he was using reverse psychology, all the Tory’s that spit on him every day in that constituency vote for Labour and make him lose the bet but I doubt he’s that smart, it would have been fair game to bet on himself to win because that’s what we teach kids better on yourself you can do it be confident go for it bet on yourself u can do it, but to bet against yourself lol 😂 what a plum

[@Dude-etiquette]

This is leadership, if this was Tory party they would’ve said “independent commission, investigate etc etc BS BS BS”

[@paddydaley6808]

In theory the candidate could throw the election to win the bet. It wouldn't make sense in practice.

[@djdoolittle1315]

“ you better you better you bet” The Who 🎧

[@friedeswide]

The problem is a society addicted to gambling.

[@vernonjones4399]

Was the caller complaining a conservative campaign advisor or something??? 😂

[@JM-jc4up]

Electoral Calculus give Labour a 48% chance of winning in Suffolk Central and Ipswich North, with the Tories on 51%. He could have actually lost his bet.

[@sofajockeyUK]

This has been a bonkers campaign.

[@HistoryonYouTube]

I don't blame him - whatever the result, he would be a winner!

[@RHH7288]

When a Tory gets caught, the first Tory response is to make sure they keep their mouths shut about other Tories behaviours.

[@funkyfender1]

It would affect his motivation to campaign against his opponents! Why bother even knocking on doors and presenting your manifesto? Its like a sports person betting on themselves to lose… they can throw the game… You could even argue that anyone can stand as a candidate with no intention of winning and then place a bet to lose against the leading candidate!

[@AndyWarpol]

He can control the outcome if he chooses to bet on himself losing. How is this not clear?

[@chatham43]

A set-up to make Stalmer look more decisive than Sunak?

[@adamkey1934]

Was that Laura Saunders phoning in?

[@AKcoxy]

This is almost worse

[@davidsmith8921]

I think there is a clear distinction between the investigations into Conservative and Labour politicians in recent years. Starmer and Raynar have both been investigated for legal / morals acts with a hint of breaking a technicality. Zahawi and these gamblers have been investigated for illegal / immoral acts. Also, if the Conservatives want to take the high (moral) road, why do they excuse their behaviour by emulating Labour? If Labour was wrong to NOT suspend Raynar, does that make it right for the Conversatives to do the same?

[@garymackay4268]

Jail

[@grogery1570]

This seems ridiculous, why did the betting agencies take a bet where the chances of a labor win should be ludicrous. Unless they feel any Tory seat can be lost.

[@TrafficConeGD]

If you look at the detailed boring report part of the recent MRP polls only 29 seats fall outside the margin for error. That means that the tories could win as little as 29 seats just with current polling. If we get more people tactically voting that number could go lower.

[@soundjip6195]

That is the most labour bet I've ever seen

[@ibexdnb2879]

It was funny listening to James justify this but when the Tories do it... hypocrisy once again from our news readers.

[@knightofnii4659]

It seems that Craig can materially influence the result in his seat by making himself unelectable and thereby increase the chance of his bet winning. This has to be a criminal infringement of gambling legislation. It's the same as a jockey throwing a race.

[@martinanderson4721]

The name Craig seems popular / unpopular. The Tory one says its " an error of judgement " well now that's what the Tories do best "

[@binkie419]

To be fair, betting against your success provides a nice tidy consulation prize to help make yourself feel better. That is genius on another level.

[@Albert-nf8jk]

Lauren from Bristol depressing us all.

[@paultaylor7082]

Where's Brenda from Bristol? I shudder to think what she's have to say regarding the events of the last almost 5 weeks, although it seems much longer to me.

[@methanedirigible]

Lauren from Bristol 🤦‍♂This is the caliber of voter in the UK

[@jaybee4288]

All as bad as each other

[@theolddog5129]

As a Central Suffolk resident, I have to say that I was surprised this individual was our Labour Party candidate. He smelled Lib Dem. Perhaps he is?

[@paultaylor7082]

You shouldn't be allowed to bet on something where you could influence the result. That's the reason in sport, participants aren't allowed to bet either to win, lose, or any other event in the contest. There were cases of people placing bets to be the first player in a football game to be given a yellow card, but that broke the rules on participants being able to bet on an outcome. The law needs to be changed here. With only another 9 days to go, I think, in retrospect, Sunak's decision to (a) call an election for July and (b) have 6 weeks' campaigning will go down as one of the worst gambles ever made in political history.

[@Gramsci]

After this the Tories have done a “hold my beer” with another senior advisor and a cabinet minister literally bragging he’s won £2k…

[@garethdevonaldsmith]

L is for Labour, L is for Lice, bless you Harry Enfield!

[@spjm17]

Footballers that bet on football (not even their own games) get big suspensions. So, for me, if politicians are betting on politics, etc, they should never be able to hold a seat even as an independent.

[@thethinkingcatakaneonormie3527]

I think this will move from being PartyGate to The Expenses Scandal I think theres probably going to be 50+ people eventually.

[@TrafficConeGD]

I think that the reason sunak took so long to act is now that he’s suspended two candidates he has to suspend every other candidate that comes out. If a few safe seat candidates get dropped this could crush the Conservative party

[@imaginitivity7853]

To be fair, when England play I bet on the other side. If England win, happy days, if they lose, well at least I get a bit of cash out of it to drown my sorrows. Seems like this guy was following the same logic, albeit without engaging his, 'person in a civic role', idiot test.

[@EdJames-tb9oz]

Are you on the England team? If not ok.

[@blackgrape73]

Haha.. the legacy media trying desperately to justify it 🤦‍♂️

[@1000whispering]

There are corrupt people everywhere. And power corrupts. The question is how a party/institution responds to corruption.

[@hahnfelt]

He could stop campaigning to win, like a football player betting on his 3:rd league team to loose against Barcelona

[@bernieburrows3731]

Are you sure the last caller wasn't Laura Kunsburgh or Fiona Bruce?🙄

[@graemelake657]

Wtaf is up with these people?

[@Jourifouler]

If someone bets on themselves winning, and can demonstrate they tried their best to win. Is it still wrong?

[@scarboroughbluffer169]

I don’t think so. People wouldn’t have an issue with betting on yourself to win, because worst case you actually try harder. It’s far easier to lose on purpose. If I bet I’m not going to win the lottery, I can just put straight numbers or not buy a ticket. If I bet on myself to win!? I have to try harder.

[@Shellewell]

To the last caller, Standards in public life matter. If we don't dedicate time to holding people and parties to account about their actions as well as their policies we let the attitude of invulnerability that develops deeper corruption swell.

[@adamfellowes2007]

Non important? That’s exactly like saying the PPE corruption is “non important”. If these people are running the country, the least we can expect is for them to be held to account to a decent standard. If you were in the financial sector and got caught insider trading - you’d lose your job and potentially end up in prison.

[@JJ-is2we]

Which betting site taking these bets

[@Uno-1968]

Just think how many more are at it but will not get caught out . Thats both tory and lab

[@maneshipocrates2264]

There is nothing there. They always like looking at both sides.

[@bendaniel2271]

It's a coping mechanism. I often bet against my heart. That way there is a consolation if I don't get what I want. Like betting on Exeter losing to Plymouth when I really want Exeter to win.

[@Michael-yq2ut]

No sports people can bet on anything even close to what they compete in

[@VinayGupta-w7i]

Free Palestine and vote independent parties

[@Matthew-bu7fg]

2:34 - I wasn't expecting that pronunciation of Gillingham

[@MullahSteinberg]

This is the ultimate uber insider trader

[@seanclarke8015]

For goodness sake. Once again labour are their own worst enemy. Get a f'ing grip so i can rely on a labour party to sort my country out

[@woodyforest7308]

Vote reform to sort your country out

[@Martinbeef]

@@woodyforest7308yea right!! 😂😂😂😊

[@Martinbeef]

Starmer showed leadership. Sunak is an utter fool.

[@badbooks476]

@@woodyforest7308 Reform are same as Tory

[@gukagiorgobiani6573]

the difference in this is uncanny betting on your own self....but Tories did what in finance called the Insider trading... they knew the day PM would call the snap GE and they bet on it. SO in essence it is worse offence

[@Blorp_]

It is cheating because he can influence the result

[@vherostar]

Worst thing for labour this. While it's not an insider trading bet or that bad and quite funny, Tory and reform voters gonna claim they as bad as tories when it's not even close here.

[@alexgill2455]

I do it similar with things like brexshit, bet against yourself so if you lose you have a few quid to drown your sorrows. At least he was suspended quickly.