By Joakim Mol Romero
Following the resignation of Starmer’s Chief of Staff, Sue Gray, which placed her in the Liz Truss Pantheon of Long Reigns, attention has turned to her successor, Morgan McSweeney.
As Chief of Staff, McSweeney will be connected to every part of government, an incredibly powerful position within an administration which has promised wholesale change. Yet unlike Gray, who achieved relative prominence as a result of the Partygate investigation, he remains an enigma to the general public.
McSweeney, whose commitment to the Labour cause is exemplified by his distinctive red beard, is a native of southern Ireland. He moved to London at age 17, and his professional career has been dedicated to working for the Labour Party, firstly in its stint in government, and later in its long-running battle to regain electoral relevance. Described as ‘softly-spoken but intense’, he resides in Scotland with his wife Imogen Walker, a Labour MP.
His dedication and sheer relentlessness have been commended throughout his career. When working for Councillor Steve Reed in Lambeth he would bring a camp bed to the office so he could stay overnight. McSweeney earned his stripes in difficult political circumstances, firstly battling the left of his party in Lambeth and later overseeing a victory over the hard-right British National Party in Dagenham.
This earned him a reputation which endures to this day, that of a shrewd political operator who knows what it takes to taste electoral success. It is a taste he has gotten increasingly used to over the years, having successfully identified Keir Starmer as the man who would chart a new course for Labour. That is not to say his career as an adviser hasn’t been without its hitches, with his management of Liz Kendall’s disastrous 2015 leadership campaign – in which she garnered a mere 4.5% of the vote – proving a particular low point.
Nevertheless, he is seen as the mastermind behind Labour’s landslide victory, a huge personal triumph. McSweeney is said to be adored by party staffers and is seen as ‘one of them’, which should help ease the mistrust said to have been created by Gray’s aloofness.
"McSweeney is said to have greater political ‘chops’ than Starmer and Gray and, by extension, a deeper appreciation for the nuances involved in building popular support around policies."
As many colleagues who have witnessed his relentlessness can attest, McSweeney’s rise to the top has been the result of him putting in ‘the hard yards’. The highest praise inside Labour is said to be ‘Morgan loves it’. Yet, despite having reached the highest unelected position in the Downing Street operation, now is no time to rest upon his laurels. As Chief of Staff, McSweeney faces arguably his most difficult and undeniably most consequential task of his political career.
Gray and McSweeney were rumoured to have a rivalrous relationship, operating as two separate centres of power. Starmer put an end to the infighting, effectively anointing McSweeney as the winner and demoting Gray. The question remains, will McSweeney succeed where Gray failed?
Conventional wisdom dictates that a successful Chief of Staff enjoys a close relationship with the Prime Minister, an area in which McSweeney has an undeniable advantage over his predecessor. Starmer appears to have unwavering trust in his new Chief of Staff, which stems from the successful leadership campaign McSweeney ran for him. In the campaign, he advocated for a tack to the left which would attract young Corbynist idealists who opposed Brexit, who McSweeney saw as up for grabs.
Before heading up Starmer’s campaign, McSweeney led Labour Together, a centrist pressure group. The irony of the word ‘Together’ in the name is not lost on his opponents, given the prominent role he has since played in expunging the party of any semblance of Corbynism. He has consequently become a hate figure among supporters of Corbyn, who believe they have been the victims of a purge.
How will McSweeney adapt from the exhilarating highs of directing and winning election campaigns to the sobering realities of governing? Managing the day-to-day workings of policy will be new to him. In June, a Labour insider said, ‘His thing is campaigning, is winning – it isn’t governing in that sense’. They continued, ‘The only time he gets involved in policy detail is when it involves some political risk…The next campaign starts as soon as the current one finishes.’
Yet McSweeney’s unrelenting focus on the ‘political’ side of governing may aid Labour’s cause. He is particularly focused on ‘bread and butter’ issues affecting working people. A focus on core economic issues should be integral in retaining trust among those who lent their vote to Labour in the July election.
McSweeney is said to have greater political ‘chops’ than Starmer and Gray and, by extension, a deeper appreciation for the nuances involved in building popular support around policies. It has been speculated that the controversial paring back of winter fuel payments would not have taken place with him as Chief of Staff.
Gray’s resignation and the appointment of McSweeney has triggered accusations of an ‘old boys’ club’ presiding over Downing Street, which has been emphatically denied by Number 10. Whilst it is never a good look for a party that has never had a female leader to replace a high-profile woman, especially so early on, Gray’s position appeared untenable.
We will now see whether McSweeney has the nous to boost Starmer’s administration or whether he has been handed a poisoned chalice. His tentacles will be spread wide across the different bodies of government, especially with the imminence of a difficult Budget.
Image: Wikimedia Commons
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