The Labour party has suspended the whip from Bayo Alaba, the MP for Southend East & Rochford, and opened an internal inquiry after questions about government Covid support taken by businesses he ran before entering Parliament.
Self-referral follows newspaper questions
Alaba referred himself to the party’s investigations process after The Times asked about a bounceback loan given to one of his companies during the pandemic. The newspaper reported that the MP appears to have taken out two bounceback loans during Covid. Labour suspended the whip after The Times contacted the party and said it had launched an internal investigation.
Before his election in 2024, Alaba ran several businesses, including Alaba Properties Ltd. Accounts for that company, and commentary from an expert cited by The Times, suggest the business took out a loan under the government scheme introduced to support firms during the pandemic.
“Like many businesses and entrepreneurs, I accessed financial support during the Covid-19 pandemic. I am wholeheartedly committed to ensuring that the liability is met in full. I’ve referred myself to the Labour party’s investigations process on the matter and I’ll cooperate fully.”
Questions over wind‑up attempts and eligibility
Companies House records show there were two attempts to wind up Alaba Properties Ltd in 2022. The Times reports those attempts were blocked; a company can only be struck off when it has no outstanding debts. It is not known who intervened to block the wind‑up.
The blocked wind‑up attempts take place against a backdrop of measures introduced by the Department for Business to prevent misuse of the bounceback scheme, including an objections process aimed at stopping business owners from trying to avoid repayments by striking off companies.
Alaba has confirmed he took out two bounceback loans and is understood to be repaying them, according to The Times. He did not, the newspaper reports, answer questions about why there were attempts to wind up Alaba Properties Ltd or whether his companies met the scheme’s eligibility criteria.
What is known — timeline
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 2020 (pandemic period) | Alaba’s companies reportedly took out bounceback loans |
| 2022 | Two attempts to wind up Alaba Properties Ltd were blocked, per Companies House records |
| 2024 | Bayo Alaba elected MP for Southend East & Rochford |
| 2026 | After media queries, Alaba self‑referred to Labour’s investigators and the party suspended the whip |
Implications and lines of inquiry
The immediate questions Labour’s investigation will need to establish are factual: whether the companies were eligible for the bounceback loans they received, why the wind‑up attempts were made and blocked in 2022, and whether any rules governing MPs’ conduct were breached by Alaba’s actions or disclosures.
The bounceback loan scheme was a large, rapid government intervention intended to keep firms afloat during Covid. Attempts to avoid repayment by striking companies off prompted the Department for Business to create an objections process. The reports in The Times centre on whether Alaba’s firms were within the rules of that scheme and on the blocked wind‑up attempts that followed.
- Party discipline: Labour has signalled it will investigate and has suspended the whip, meaning Alaba cannot sit with the parliamentary Labour group while the process runs.
- Repayment status: The MP is understood to be repaying the loans, according to the newspaper.
- Outstanding questions: The reasons for the 2022 wind‑up attempts and the identity of whoever blocked them remain unknown.
The case is likely to test Labour’s internal processes for upholding standards among its MPs and will mark how quickly the party resolves an inquiry that touches on the use of public support schemes during a national emergency. For the public, the central interest is whether elected representatives accessed and handled emergency funds in line with the rules set out for all businesses.
