Andrea Jenkyns's mysterious lack of declarations

In September 2024, Reform politicians were quick to attack Keir Starmer over donations of free suits, glasses and clothes for his wife.

Among those piling on was short-lived former junior minister Andrea Jenkyns, then best known for giving the finger to protestors in the dog days of Boris Johnson’s premiership. In a Facebook post, she called Starmer’s actions “startling”, claiming they offered “an insight into why Labour are punishing our pensioners”. She also accused him of failing to declare the donation in the parliamentary register.

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Since then, Jenkyns has been elected mayor of Greater Lincolnshire, allowing her plenty of opportunities for cringe-inducing press conferences and grandstanding. But anyone hoping to find out what gifts or hospitality she has received in office may be disappointed.

Until this month, almost 18 months after her election, the Greater Lincolnshire Combined County Authority’s transparency webpage still offered little information. Where the registers of interests, gifts and hospitality should be, visitors found just one note: “coming soon”.

When Rats in a Sack asked the authority about this curious omission, its communications office thanked us for making them aware of the issue and now, a year-and-a-half on, it has removed the “coming soon” and added a link to the Members’ Register of Interests.

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In doing so, though, it has always removed the promise that a “register of gifts and hospitality” would be “coming soon”. As such, nothing is recorded on Jenkyns’s entry beyond her directorship of London-based TV firm Gertrude Media Ltd (of whom she is sole director) and her freelance appearances on GB News, albeit without a figure.

Has Jenkyns really not received any gifts and hospitality since becoming Mayor of Greater Lincolnshire? Or must the good citizens of the county have to wait another 18 months to find out?