Scrutiny of Sir Keir Starmer’s decision to accept more than £100,000 worth of freebies before he became Prime Minister have dominated the headlines this week.

And while it has been an unwelcome distraction for the Government as it seeks to push forward with its agenda to reboot Britain, the PM’s Leader of the House of Commons, Lucy Powell, says there is a greater need for transparency, not less.

Powell, who herself accepted £40,000 in donated gifts while she was in opposition, says the majority of her declarations on the MP register were for events she attended in an official capacity as shadow culture secretary.

She explains that Tory ministers who attended those same events did not have to declare their gifts in the same way – due to a rule change made under David Cameron’s government in 2015.

In a wide-ranging interview with i, ahead of the Labour party conference which starts on Sunday, Powell also lifts the lid on adjusting to life in Government, talks tightening the rules on MPs’ second jobs and defends the Government’s decision to cut winter fuel help for all but the poorest pensioners.

“Just to be clear, the vast majority of the declarations that I made were when I was the shadow culture secretary and when I was attending events in an official capacity,” Powell says.

“So, I was attending those in an official capacity, but the ministers attending those same events didn’t have to declare those gifts in the same way, with a monetary value applied to them.

“The Conservatives changed those rules, so that ministers don’t have to declare attending events in that way when it relates to their ministerial capacity.

“But when it relates to your shadow ministerial capacity, you do have to declare it.”

If a minister attends an event in their official capacity, they are not required to declare it on their MP register of interest. Instead, the gift or hospitality is usually released in transparency data by their department.

It was in 2015 under Mr Cameron’s government that parliamentary rules on gifts were changed to give ministers an exemption on anything they receive “in their ministerial capacity”.

So, will Labour look at reversing this? After all, Powell is keen to emphasise Labour’s commitment to transparency throughout the interview.

She is non-committal, largely because it’s not a responsibility that falls within her portfolio, but says it may be something the new Government will look into.

“It’s not something you can straightforwardly, instantly, do, but something we’ll have to consider in the round,” she says.

“I think transparency is really important.”

The rules for MPs and ministers on declaring gifts

The gifts and hospitality given to Keir Starmer were provided while he was in opposition, and so were declared on his register of interest as an MP.

MPs must register any gifts, benefits, or hospitality that are worth more than £300, or if the total value of gifts received in a year exceeds £300. This includes shadow cabinet ministers.

They must also register any gifts over £500 that come from a donor who is not registered in the UK.

The rules are different, however, for the Prime Minister and other members of his Government.

The Ministerial Code states: “It is a well-established and recognised rule that no Minister should accept gifts, hospitality or services from anyone which would, or might appear to, place him or her under an obligation. The same principle applies if gifts etc are offered to a member of their family.”

If they attend an event in their official capacity as a minister, they are not required to declare it on their MP register of interest. Instead, the gift or hospitality is released in transparency data by their department.

Ministers are also required to declare all external meetings they have with relevant individuals such as senior journalists, business groups and campaigners, as well as any foreign visits they undertake.

Gifts given to ministers while they are undertaking government duties can be accepted if they are under the value of £140.

Any gift over this value should be handed over to their department or disposed of, but they can opt to purchase it from the department if they want to keep it.

Powell will deliver her first speech as a minister on Sunday, and she tells i the past two or so months have been “full on”.

She has two offices in which to complete her increased workload – one in the Commons and one in the Cabinet Office.

“I’ve got a nice office in the House of Commons, behind the Speaker’s chair and then I’ve got another in the Cabinet Office because a lot of my work is done there,” Powell says.

“It’s huge coming into government, and there’s a lot going on. I’ve put all kinds of motions to the floor, I was very closely involved in the King’s Speech and pulling together Labour’s first legislative programme for 14 years. It’s been full on. Very fun, but full on.

“I don’t think any of us have come up for air yet.”

While she may have two offices, one thing that Powell is not so keen on is MPs having two jobs. She has set up The Modernisation Committee, which will look at what advantages, if any, outside paid engagements such as media appearances, journalism and speeches by MPs offer to the public, versus the potential conflicts of interest that may arise.

This could lead to a ban on MPs accepting paid contracts for broadcast work.

Labour has already approved a crackdown on second jobs, with a tightening of the rules to ban MPs from providing paid advice on policy or how Parliament works.

Last week, Powell’s latest move on examining paid media jobs for MPs incurred the wrath of Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, who has a lucrative role hosting a nightly show on GB News on top of his £91,346 MP’s salary.

Farage has accused Powell of limiting free speech by suggesting that an MP’s primary role should be to serve their constituents. He claimed any move to take away his broadcast gig is “censorship – Starmer Stasi style”.

Powell does not have a lot of time for Farage’s protestations.

“Certainly, his cry that I’m personally trying to stop free speech is absolutely not the case. He’ll always be free to go on any news channel whenever he wants.

“That’s not what we’re talking about here. What we’re talking about is ongoing contracts of employment that tie you in and, therefore, could give a real perception of a conflict of interest when it comes to what should be your main job and your your first job of being a Member of Parliament and acting in the interest of your constituents first and foremost.

“No one is saying he, or any other MP, cannot go on television to express their views. That just isn’t the case.”

During Powell’s speech to party loyalists in Liverpool on Sunday, she will spell out more about her efforts to clean up the ambiguities around second jobs, as well as telling her audience that she and her colleagues are “getting on with delivering the manifesto” they were elected on.

“We are about restoring trust in politics, holding ourselves to the highest standards, tackling some of the culture and behavioural challenges in Parliament and also making Parliament more effective and relatable to people,” she says.

However, as wholesome as this sounds, it is unlikely to grab the headlines like taking winter fuel payments from hundreds of thousands of pensioners did.

Powell explains the policy is essential following the discovery of the so-called “£22bn blackhole” left behind by the previous administration. However, she does also encourage all those eligible for pension credit to apply for it, thereby making them eligible to continue receiving up to £300 of help with their heating bills this winter.

“We didn’t know what we were coming into and, obviously, what we uncovered in the Treasury and right across government was this big black hole.

“There has been lots of big spending commitments made or that needed to be made with absolutely no budget for them.

“We’ve had to to take action to to deal with that. Otherwise the consequences are even more difficult with an economy and government finances that don’t stack up.

“We have been doing a huge amount to get people on pension credit and it’s not too late for people to do that.

“I think it’s really hard when you are mean tested as it obviously creates a line, and wherever that line gets gets drawn, it is difficult for those that are just above it.

“We totally understand that, and that’s why, we are doing a massive communications drive, working with charities and others to get people on pension credit.

“It is also why we are totally committed to the triple lock, because I think it’s really important for people to recognise that the value of the state pension in real terms, is worth a lot more now and will be worth a lot more over the coming years than than it has been.

“The basic state pension is worth £900 more in this current year, and is going to be £460 more next year.”

Under the triple lock, the state pension increases every April by whatever is the highest – inflation, earnings growth or 2.5 per cent. However, there are those who claim that, despite Labour’s commitment to the triple lock, these rises will not make all pensioners feel better off.

Former pensions minister Sir Steve Webb has warned that the next boost to the state pension will not represent a real increase in living standards as a chunk of that rise is simply to keep pace with increasing prices.

Powell adds: “It is likely to go up above inflation for some years to come, and so hopefully pensioners will feel over the course of this Parliament that they are actually better off overall.”

One thing Powell and all her fellow ministers have realised is that once the word “shadow” is dropped from your title and the decisions you take actually affect people’s lives, then the level of scrutiny you are subjected to ratchets up to new levels.

Powell will be hoping that being among friends in Liverpool over the course of the next week will allow her to come up for air after two months in the hot seat.