Keir Starmer is facing pressure to sack his chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, following briefings to journalists about a potential plot to oust him as Prime Minister.
Several ministers and Labour MPs have pointed the finger at Mr McSweeney for singling out Health Secretary Wes Streeting as a potential challenger. The row has left McSweeney’s Downing Street future under threat.
Asked whether Mr Starmer was prepared to sack those responsible, his press secretary said: “I would point you to what he has said about this previously, which is any attacks on Cabinet ministers are completely unacceptable and will always be dealt with.”
Often described as Labour’s election guru, Mr McSweeney is seen as the mastermind behind Sir Keir’s succession from Jeremy Corbyn and the party’s landslide victory on July 4.
As one of the PM’s closest aides, Mr McSweeney has enormous influence and is now one of the most power government figures in the country.
Mr McSweeney cut his teeth in local government. In 2006 he organised Labour’s successful campaign to seize control of Lambeth council from a Tory-Lib Dem coalition. He acted as the chief of staff for then council leader (and now the Environment Secretary) Steve Reed.
During his time at the London borough he is said to have led the revolt against local far left factions. It is where Mr McSweeney met his wife Imogen Walker, then a Lambeth councillor and now Labour MP for Hamilton and Clyde Valley.
His campaign work also helped see off the threat from the British National Party (BNP) in Barking and Dagenham. Between 2008 and 2010 Labour was fighting a battle against the far right who held a dozen seats on east London council.
Mr McSweeney was on the frontline as Labour adopted an election strategy focused on patriotism and tackling crime and antisocial behaviour to force out the BNP.
He later became head of the Labour group at the Local Government Association and in 2015 ran now Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall’s unsuccessful bid to lead the party.
Ms Kendall received less than five per cent of the vote in a the leadership election where Jeremy Corbyn stormed to victory.
He helped start the Think Tank Labour Together where he served as director before joining Sir Keir’s team in 2020.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is joined on stage by his wife Victoria
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When Sir Keir became leader of the opposition Mr McSweeney oversaw Labour’s campaign operation.
He set a focus on winning back former red wall constituencies and the swing seats where Brexit-backing voters had abandoned the party in favour of Boris Johnson’s Conservatives at the 2019 election.
Labour rebranded with Union Flag logos, while the national anthem was sung at the party conference in a bid to reassure patriotic voters.
At the general election last year, the party won a huge majority of 174 seats on less than 35 per cent of the popular vote.
Relationship with Sue Gray
Sir Keir’s first 100 days in government were plagued by infighting and a scandal over a number of freebies accepted by the PM and his senior ministers.
At the same time it emerged that there was fiction between Mr McSweeney and Ms Gray in Number 10.
Ms Gray’s appointment to become the PM’s most senior political aide was controversial. She had been the senior civil tasked with writing the Partygate report, which was instrumental in bringing down Boris Johnson’s government.
Unflattering briefings about Ms Gray appeared in the press almost as soon as Sir Keir took power. There were rumours Mr McSweeney had been blocked from getting security briefings by the PM’s chief of staff – claims Whitehall officials vehemently denied.
Ms Gray said she was looking forward to continuing to support the Prime Minister in her new role
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However some were said to have found Ms Gray’s “centralisation” of government frustrating.
Announcing her resignation Ms Gray said it had been an honour to “play my part in the delivery of a Labour government”, both in opposition and in Number 10.
“However in recent weeks it has become clear to me that intense commentary around my position risked becoming a distraction to the government’s vital work of change,” she said.
“It is for that reason I have chosen to stand aside, and I look forward to continuing to support the prime minister in my new role.”
