Sue Gray resigns as Keir Starmer's chief of staff

Sue Gray has resigned as Keir Starmer’s chief of staff after finding herself at the center of a political storm since Labor came to power.

Gray will be replaced by Morgan McSweeney, the party’s electoral guru who orchestrated Starmer’s succession to Jeremy Corbyn, with whom she was reportedly at odds in government.

While a number of senior Labor figures played down friction between Gray and McSweeney, both close to the prime minister, one minister foreshadowed Gray’s future a few weeks ago, telling the Guardian: “One of They, or both, will have to leave. . It won’t be Morgan.

Gray would take on a new government role as the Prime Minister’s envoy for regions and nations, Number 10 announced, as Starmer shook up his entire top team after facing intense pressure to end the briefings hostiles which had sometimes overshadowed his first 100 days.

The Prime Minister sought to change the narrative and said he had made five changes to his team to “strengthen his operations in Downing Street before marking his first 100 days in office”.

In a written statement, he said: “I am really happy to be able to bring such talented and experienced people into my team. This shows my absolute determination to bring about the change the country voted for.

Number 10’s political director, Vidhya Alakeson, and government relations director, Jill Cuthbertson, have been promoted to Starmer’s deputy chiefs of staff.

Nin Pandit, director of Downing Street’s policy unit, has been appointed parliamentary private secretary to the Prime Minister, while former journalist James Lyons will join him to lead a new strategic communications team, Downing Street has confirmed.

Gray had been blamed by some Labor figures for the party’s failure to avoid controversy over gifts, with some saying she lacked “political experience”, although she undoubtedly knew exactly how the civil service worked. Her salary had been leaked to the press, revealing she was paid £3,000 more than the Prime Minister, which caused a huge backlash among advisers.

The new envoy has also been blamed for the lower pay special advisers receive compared to Tory-era aides, prompting many Labor councilors to join a union over their concerns.

While a number of ministers defended her, saying the “appalling” rows must stop or risk undermining the government, it had become clear that Gray had alienated some of her political colleagues, who accused her of “control freak” and create a “bottleneck”. within number 10 which had delayed political decisions and appointments.

Gray said she was happy to accept her new role, but was stepping down because it had “become clear to me that the intense commentary around my position risked distracting from the vital work of change of the government.”

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The Prime Minister thanked her for the support she allegedly gave him in opposition and in government, adding in a statement: “Sue has played a vital role in strengthening our relationships with regions and nations. I am delighted that she continues to support this work.

Gray said in a statement: “I am pleased to have accepted a new role as Prime Minister’s Envoy for the Regions and Nations. Having led Labor’s preparation for government and initiating work on our agenda for change, I look forward to using my experience to help the Prime Minister and Cabinet achieve the government’s goals in countries and regions across the UK.”

She added: “It has been an honor to take on the role of Chief of Staff and play my part in establishing a Labor Government. Throughout my career, my primary interest has always been public service. However, in recent weeks it has become clear to me that the intense commentary around my position risks distracting from the government’s vital change work. It is for this reason that I have chosen to step down and I look forward to continuing to support the Prime Minister in my new role. »

A Conservative Party spokesperson described Downing Street as “chaos”. They said: “In less than 100 days, Sir Keir Starmer’s Labor government has been thrown into chaos – losing its chief of staff who was at the center of the scandal in which the Labor Party was engulfed. Sue Gray was tasked with implementing a government program and all we have seen since then is self-service government.

“The only question left is: who will lead the country from now on?