Too often ‘gate’ is a pretty clear signal that some lazy journalism is about to follow. Remember Starmer and ‘beergate?’
Historically symbolising true political corruption, deception, or major breaches of public trust, the ‘gate’ suffix is typically reserved for the biggest political scandals. Watergate, which led to President Nixon’s resignation after a break-in orchestrated by his administration, Monicagate, Monica Lewinsky’s infamous sex scandal with Bill Clinton, and, of course, Partygate involving Boris Johnson’s Covid rule-breaking, spring to mind.
Too often ‘gate’ is a pretty clear signal that some lazy journalism is about to follow. Remember Starmer and ‘beergate?’
Applying this suffix to a 16-year-old story about Rachel Reeves’s former banking jobs is surely a textbook example of over-hyped clickbait smear journalism, and hardly a scandal of the same magnitude as real ‘gate’ controversies.
Sigh, the term ‘handbaggate’ has been dragged into the news, despite its utter lack of relevance to the kind of misconduct typically associated with major political controversies.
Yes, the right-wing press’s obsession with Rachel Reeves has taken yet another turn, bringing up her time as a manager at Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) from 2006 to 2009 and dredging up old accusations to paint her in a negative light.
In its mailout on February 13, the Times described ‘Handbaggate,’ in reference to Keir Starmer’s backing of Reeves despite accusations that she used company expenses to purchase gifts for colleagues and allegedly had a “very cavalier attitude regarding the budget” before her political career took off.
The incident, dating back to the noughties, revolves around claims in a six-page whistleblower complaint accusing Reeves and two senior HBOS managers of using corporate funds to fuel a lavish lifestyle, including dinners, events, taxis, and gifts.
The most explosive element of the story seems to rest on a handful of receipts for hundreds of pounds spent on luxury items like handbags, perfume, and wine, as well as a Christmas party for the team.
But the BBC’s investigation (which the Times’ report refers to) into the allegations found no conclusive proof of wrongdoing, and it remains unclear whether the bank’s internal investigation even came to any final conclusions.
Surely, this long-distant accusation is hardly a scandal of national importance?
A former HR head at HBOS confirmed that Reeves was indeed forced to leave the company, but no evidence points to her being dismissed over the alleged misuse of funds.
Sigh, the obsessive focus on Rachel Reeves is less about uncovering genuine political malpractice and more about using tired, exaggerated claims to tarnish her reputation. And as for trying to frame it as a “gate” scandal, worthy of comparison to real controversies, that’s an insult to the public’s intelligence.
You’d think there was nothing else worth reporting on in the world.
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