Starmer steps into politics by appointing Morgan McSweeney as his top aide

(Bloomberg) — Keir Starmer has faced a tough first three months in power, with his administration overwhelmed by charity disputes, internal infighting and growing frustrations about Britain’s public finances. On Sunday, he finally turned to the architect of Labor’s landslide election victory to try to set things right.

The sudden appointment of Morgan McSweeney in place of Sue Grey, whom the Prime Minister had removed from a senior role in Britain’s bureaucracy to run his government, was a cruel move that underlined how much the government already needs a complete reset. was needed. People in Labor also see it as Starmer realizing his office needs more political edge – something the premier is not particularly known for – after several weeks of negative media coverage. .

“Politics is back” at 10 Downing Street, said John McTernan, a former adviser to Labour’s totemic former premier Tony Blair.

The new Downing Street team led by McSweeney will provide clearer political direction, a better-defined strategy and a more cohesive relationship between advisers, those who work with him and those who welcomed his appointment, Bloomberg reported on condition of anonymity. He is said to want to remain focused on winning the next election in 2029 by ensuring that the Tories and the right-wing Reform UK party led by Nigel Farage fail to impose sensible management of crime, immigration and public finances on Labour. Cannot be accused of being. ,

This effectively makes McSweeney the political antenna of the Prime Minister, who now has the authority to run his own operation. Starmer, a career lawyer who entered Westminster relatively late, has a technocratic style and favors government based on efficient management of the economy and public services rather than larger political narratives. It is said that he finds daily politics and 24-hour news coverage depressing, preferring to concentrate on his administrative duties.

That’s why he chose Grey, a career civil servant who understood how to work in Whitehall, in the first place. But Gray’s enemies accused him of failing to manage Labour’s transition from opposition to government, and said his lack of political experience left Starmer vulnerable to questions about freebies he accepted from wealthy Labor colleague Waheed Alli. had contributed to the inability to respond. Amid the uproar, Starmer’s personal approval ratings have fallen.

It is up to McSweeney to ensure that the last three months are an early blip rather than a turbulent period that will undermine the remainder of their premiership. As Labour’s campaign chief, McSweeney set strategy and messaging. But people said that while he may not have Gray’s experience of day-to-day governance, he is smarter and will anticipate political problems and opportunities.

The 47-year-old grew up in Macroom in County Cork, Ireland, and moved to London at the age of 17, working on construction sites before enrolling at Middlesex University. Inspired by the Blair government’s achievement in achieving peace in Northern Ireland, he joined the Labor Party in the wake of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement and began working as an intern at the party’s head office.

His early work as a political strategist came when he led Labour’s campaigns in the London district of Lambeth, taking back control of the council from the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats and defeating the hard-left “militants” who were taking over Labor in that area. ” Defeated the group.

He impressed colleagues by defeating the far-right in Barking and Dagenham in the late 2000s, when the British National Party was gaining a foothold in the London district in search of its first parliamentary seat. McSweeney’s campaign focused on local, everyday issues over a period of years and the BNP was defeated by Labor in the 2010 general election.

Other ventures were less successful. He ran Liz Kendall’s leadership campaign in 2015, when the current Work and Pensions Secretary came last in the contest won by socialist Jeremy Corbyn.

While many abandoned Labor after Corbyn’s victory – not least Blair, who declared the party “lost” forever – McSweeney believed it could be brought back to the political centre. . He founded the think tank Labor Together, which at the time was known as a broad church for people from across the movement.

Following two election defeats under Corbyn, McSweeney planned Starmer’s campaign to become leader. That contest was fought with left-wing views, but under McSweeney’s guidance, Starmer moved to the center after winning, and expelled Corbynism – and Corbyn himself – from the party.

Before the July election, McSweeney also played a key role in canceling or downplaying policies, including expensive but popular policies such as the green energy transition, to reduce the targets of attack by opponents. Labour’s campaign was fought on key promises not to raise taxes and to protect the economy and public finances, and this gave Starmer a historic majority to govern.

Labor allies see McSweeney as close to Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves, and her appointment as Starmer’s chief of staff could help the premier’s relationship with the Treasury. McSweeney’s wife, Imogen Walker, is a New Labor MLA and has been appointed as Reeves’ parliamentary aide.

But those alleged ties also frustrated some members of Starmer’s senior ministerial team, who, while Labor was in opposition, saw McSweeney and Reeves as blocking more ambitious policy ideas.

Critics have also pointed out that rejecting key revenue raisers in the campaign has tied the government’s hands ahead of what is expected to be a painful Budget on October 30. Reeves’ negative message about the £22 billion ($28.8 billion) fiscal black hole he said he inherited from the Conservatives was seen as an extension of McSweeney’s approach to the party.

Those arguments contributed to the infighting that ultimately led to Gray losing his job, and his allies have accused McSweeney of trying to oust him in a power struggle for Starmer’s ear. McSweeney and some other male colleagues in Starmer’s office became known as “the boys”, leading to the first round of clashes with Gray as he tried to curb their influence.

The turmoil has raised the stakes for Starmer, especially as his pitch during the election was the promise of stability after 14 years of Tory-led governments. Instead of getting their heads together or finding a grand solution to keep both allies in place, Starmer opted for an all-powerful political appointment. Now he will need to keep McSweeney out of the spotlight to find some semblance of peace.

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