MPs have accepted almost £400,000 worth of hospitality so far this year, including tickets to concerts, sporting fixtures and awards ceremonies, according to an analysis of the register of members' financial interests published on Friday.

The figures, reported by the Guardian, prompted accusations that parliamentarians have failed to learn the lessons of the row that engulfed Westminster in 2024, when Sir Keir Starmer faced sustained criticism over free football tickets and donated clothing.

Among the declarations logged this year are Harry Styles concert tickets worth £858, tickets to the Chelsea flower show valued at £1,839, and £3,432 of hospitality at the Brit awards. The former transport secretary Louise Haigh, the Labour MP Lucy Powell and the health secretary, Wes Streeting, are among those who have accepted tickets.

The total, drawn from entries covering the year to date, suggests the appetite for corporate and institutional hospitality at Westminster has not diminished despite the political damage inflicted on the government two years ago. Starmer repaid more than £6,000 in gifts and hospitality in September 2024 after the affair dominated the start of Labour's first party conference in office, and Downing Street subsequently tightened internal guidance on what ministers should accept.

Critics accused MPs of 'failing to learn their lesson' over freebies.

Under the rules of the House of Commons, MPs must register any gift, benefit or hospitality worth more than £300 received in connection with their role as a member, and must do so within 28 days. The declarations are lawful, and appearing on the register is not in itself evidence of wrongdoing. But transparency campaigners argue that the sheer scale of accepted hospitality, at a time when household budgets remain under strain and trust in politicians is low, risks reinforcing a perception that access to parliamentarians can be bought with a ticket.

MPs and their offices have consistently defended the practice, arguing that attending cultural events, sporting fixtures and industry showcases forms a legitimate part of engaging with the sectors they scrutinise and the constituencies they represent. Several entries on the register record that hospitality was accepted in an official or constituency capacity, and some MPs have said in the past that events such as the Chelsea flower show or the Brit awards allow them to meet organisations and businesses they would not otherwise encounter.

Others point to a practical difficulty. Sports clubs, broadcasters, trade bodies and arts organisations routinely offer tickets to MPs, and there is no rule barring acceptance provided the benefit is declared. The system is one of disclosure rather than prohibition, a distinction critics say leaves too much to individual judgment.

The parliamentary commissioner for standards can investigate late or incomplete declarations, and repeated failures to register interests on time have previously resulted in apologies to the House. The register is updated periodically and the running total for the year is likely to rise before December.

The renewed scrutiny comes as the government continues to face questions over standards in public life. The 2024 controversy, which spread from Starmer to a number of cabinet ministers, led to a review of the ministerial code and to changes in how gifts to ministers are recorded and published.

For now, the political question is whether the latest figures reignite that debate. Labour entered office promising to restore standards after a succession of scandals under the previous Conservative administrations, and the party's opponents are likely to seize on the numbers as evidence that little has changed in practice.

Haigh, Powell and Streeting have all declared the hospitality they received in line with Commons rules.