The Guardian has just posted that:
Sue Gray has resigned from her position as Keir Starmer's chief of staff and will take on a new government role, No 10 has announced.
Gray said she was standing down because it had “become clear to me that intense commentary around my position risked becoming a distraction to the government's vital work of change”.
It's important to recall that Simon Case, the head of the civil service, also resigned within the last week, supposedly on health grounds.
Case was not Starmer's choice, but the briefing against him was intense.
Gray was Starnmer's choice, and it would seem as if it was an extremely unwise one.
To lose one pivotal manager in a week is unfortunate.
To lose two is not careless: it says something deeply uncomfortable about the boss. In this case, I think the message is clear: he's not up to the job. The centre cannot hold, as the saying goes. Time will tell if I am right.
Thanks for reading this post.
You can share this post on social media of your choice by clicking these icons:
There are links to this blog's glossary in the above post that explain technical terms used in it. Follow them for more explanations.
You can subscribe to this blog's daily email here.
And if you would like to support this blog you can, here:
Buy me a coffee!
Morgan McSweeney continues to consolidate his control over the Labour Party, and now its government. Do we really need another control freak pulling a Prime Minister’s strings?
And a rightwing one at that, who has led the “de Combining” of the Labour Party.
He had a tight hold on who the candidate MPs were.
Morgan McSweeney may be a control freak but he’s plain useless at delivering competent government! Even the pro-Starmer Guardianistas are turning against this Labour administration after only three months!
Gray is to be appointed as the PM’s envoy for the regions and nations.
Scotland already has a Viceroy in the shape of Ian Murray, Secretary of State for* Scotland – who has done nothing at all for Scotland since being appointed. Expect fireworks between Gray and Murray as they fight over who can do as little as possible for north britain.
*against
Indeed
And what does that even mean?
A non-job carrying a high salary
“Case was not Starmer’s choice, but the briefing against him was intense.”
Who is “him”????
Case is Simon Case. He is him.
“Labour briefing against Case was intense.”
Is this correct???
Did not Simon Case hang out and prance around at Buckingham Palace at one time?
Yes
But he then became our most senior civil servant
I’m finding myself incandescent with rage about the appalling behaviour of politicians in general.
It seems most of them are incompetent & (to say the least) easily (mis) led.
To have put so much energy into getting rid of the last lot, only to find that (as I expected, having a political memory that goes back to the late ’60s) Labour are really not that much better is infuriating.
Our politicians really don’t represent the population at large – they’re too busy defending the interests of the extremely rich, on the pretence that “we have to be realistic” about the economy.
What economy?
The one that’s pumping cash into private equity & tax havens?
How long can that go on, before the rest of us start trading in something other than the government sanctioned currency, because we can’t find enough actual money to meet our needs?
And how long before climate chaos destroys our ability to grow the sort of bulk-traded commodities that underpin the sort of “food” supermarkets make most of their profits from? And what happens then?
Will WW3 start before either of those can hit?
Sorry, rant over.
It seems ridiculous to be thinking like that… I hope…
But actually? Who knows?
“To have put so much energy into getting rid of the last lot, only to find that (as I expected, having a political memory that goes back to the late ’60s) Labour are really not that much better is infuriating”.
I confess I simply do not understand how anyone didn’t know what Labour were, and are. It seems to me that it was and is blatantly obvious. I have never been a Labour supporter, but even allowing for whatever bias anyone may suppose that brings (and actually, the boot is on the other foot), I do not believe it offers a plausible excuse. The only justification for voting Starmer in was to ensure the Conservatives were voted out, and electorally obliterated; nothing else good could possible come out of voting Labour.
The Oscar Wilde line is tempting but in this case – arch but inadequate!
This is a disaster for Starmer; it not only looks awful, it IS awful.
Case was already needing to go, if only on medical grounds which were an issue before the election – but losing Sue Gray reveals that Starmer has perhaps always been the creature of his creators – notably Morgan McSweeney, for whose back-story the recent book by Anushka Asthana, “Taken as Red: How Labour Won Big and the Tories Crashed the Party” looks like essential – and disturbing – reading. It looks as though Downing Street – the whole machine – has been captured by the people behind McSweeney and his project. This apparently set out to destroy the party that had supported Corbyn and his ideas. Why? and to replace it with what? and in whose best interests?
Today’s outcome may make McSweeney’s creature feel comfortable but it should trouble us all. Whose show are we now watching?
“…Morgan McSweeney…” ???
I don’t recall seeing that name on my ballot paper.
In fact I don’t recognise the name at all.
Great British democracy and Mother of Parliaments Shmarliaments.
If Mc Sweeney wants to rule the roost he should stand for election and say so. (Whoever he is {????})
Many voters will now be wondering why the country bothered having a general election. For many they wanted to get rid of an incompetent and corrupt government but have now ended up with the same! It was all so predictable but will the electorate now take their politics more seriously instead of playing lucky dip? Doubtful in my book until things get really bad!
To misquote Lady Bracknell “To lose one manager, Mr. Starmer, may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness.”
de Corbyn not decombining!
I find all this quite worrying to be honest.
There is some sort of power play going on here for control of the leadership it seems to me and although I don’t know all of the protagonists, it makes you wonder who the keeper of this zoo actually is/are?
This is all sorts of wrong.
I suppose time will tell if the current trajectory of the party changes – but what if this is just about getting all the ducks to line up in order to stick to austerity and more privatisation?
“…it makes you wonder who the keeper of this zoo actually is/are?”
Or to use a different metaphor, it’s certainly becoming more and more obvious that we only voted – can only ever vote – to change the puppets, while the puppet masters carry on regardless.
@ PSR
“…it makes you wonder who the keeper of this zoo actually is/are?”
WE haven’t a clue have we? We have NO idea what is actually going on and the mass media is no help whatsoever. They seem to be paid not to be interested and to distract us with “human interest stories (which are almost invariably as dull as ditchwater).
Mcsweeney set up Starmer’s “private” office away from Labour HQ six months BEFORE the 2019 election. At the time, Starmer was campaigning for Corbyn and in his Shadow Cabinet.
McSweeney’s three stage plan to make Starmer leader was simple:
Stage One: Reform Labour, sack Corbynites. Sack Corbyn, exclude his followers from parliamentary selection. Rewrite the rule book to permanently exclude the Left.
Sing the National Anthem
Hug the flag
Stage Two: Expose the Tory failures
Stage Three: Convince voters that the “changed” Labour Party had something positive to offer.
Starmer has spoken often of McSweeney’s plan as an inspiration. McSweeney runs Starmer. Incidentally, McSweeney’s partner is the new MP for somewhere in Scotland. Her recently declared interests in the Register include payment as Interim ? in the Leader of the Opposition’s office, and a donation from Gary Lubner (Autoglass, and massive Labour donor) whose family made their money breaking sanctions against apartheid in South Africa.
McSweeney’s wife is Imogen Walker. Prior to becoming MP for Hamilton and Clyde Valley, Scotland in the July UK general election, she was ward councillor, finance lead and deputy leader in Lambeth.
She is also currently a parliamentary private secretary for Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves.
Cosy, eh.
Rapid promotion….
Incestuous really not cosy expecially when you know hubby worked for Peter Mandleson!
Starmer now just a joke! Pretty much a disaster waiting to happen every time you look or listen to the news headlines. So much for the abilities of McSweeney and McFadden pulling his strings!
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/oct/06/revolts-and-resignations-a-timeline-of-starmers-first-three-months-in-power
I reiterate my latest nickname for SKS =:dud Christmas Cracker, and believe Angela Rayner will be PM by New Year 2025.
As for McSweeney, clearly a candidate for Dennis Skinner’s immortal comment “educated beyond his intelligence”!
You really DO expect Svengali to have a bit of talent and class, and not to be so spectacularly incompetent.
Breaking things is easy to do; it’s making things work that’s hard.
starmer always struck me as cold, i felt he was never sincere, scripted, simply saying his lines, saying what’s required according to the audience. Fooling so many into thinking he’s genuine, when he’s clearly not. What happens when the general public wake up to this? The country deserves to be funded properly, everything needs so much investment. I fear the backlash, could lead to another, but far more rightwing tory govt at the next GE.
[…] noted Sue Gray's resignation yesterday, with good […]
I wonder if Gray will be getting a pay rise after this “resignation”. She was already being paid more than the prime minister.
Gus O’Donnell apparently thinks the cabinet secretary is grossly underpaid at a cool £200,000 pa. Much like the poor MPs, one wonders how anyone manages on such low wages.