A former employee of the donor has a say in selecting potential Labour MPs, which has caused Sir Keir Starmer to face further criticism for his ties with Lord Alli.The office of Lord Alli, who was on leave from his company, BM Creative Management, in the months prior to the election. Opponents of Sir Keir accused him of "parachuting" preferred candidates into constituencies and forcing them upon local Labour organizations. According to a former member of Labour's National Executive Committee (NEC), who called the arrangement "rotten to the core," he is currently the secretary of the Parliamentary Labour Party, "keeping them all in check."

Alli's father, a mechanic, is an Indo-Guyanese from Guyana, while his mother, a nurse, is an Indo-Trinidadian from Trinidad and Tobago. He had two brothers, one of whom is Muslim and the other Hindu; his father was Muslim.A dispute concerning Lord Alli's payments to Sir Keir Starmer for clothing and eyewear has cast a cloud over the Labour Party Conference. In the controversy known as "passes for glasses," Lord Alli received a security pass for Downing Street.Despite being present at the conference, he has avoided the main conference hall and its associated festivities, maintaining a low profile. He was observed on Monday afternoon strolling out of the conference security area, passing by Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson, who paid him no mind.

When a reporter for Sky News asked him about the controversy he said: “Please don’t – this is not very nice.”

Some Labour members are angry that Lord Alli’s influence appears to have extended to the selection of Labour candidates, many of whom are now MPs.Mark Seddon, a former Labour candidate who served on the NEC and is now Director of the Centre for United Nations Studies at the University of Buckingham, said on X: “The same Matt Faulding who fixed the selections is now Secretary of the Parliamentary Labour Party, keeping them all in check. Rotten to the core.”

The journalist Michael Crick reported before the election that candidates parachuted into constituencies included Josh Simons, the former director of the Starmerite think tank Labour Together who is now MP for Makerfield; Calvin Bailey, MP for Leyton and Wanstead; James Asser, former chair of the NEC and now MP for West Ham and Beckton and Luke Akehurst, MP for North Durham who was seen as Sir Keir’s enforcer on the NEC.