From stories about freebies and donors to anger over winter fuel payment cuts, Labour’s first months in power have been surprisingly rocky. And alongside these headlines have been rumours that inside Downing Street things are no smoother, thanks to the power struggle between two of Starmer’s top aides: Morgan McSweeney, head of strategy, and Sue Gray, chief of staff.
Jessica Elgot, the Guardian’s deputy political editor, says there were rows over access to Starmer, with complaints that Gray was too controlling over his time. And eventually she became a lightening rod for the criticism that Labour’s message was getting lost in the noise around the bad press. Jess says some Labour insiders believed “if you were telling the story right there’s a lot to say, but somehow all we’re talking about is infighting in Downing Street”.
Now Gray has gone and Starmer has reshuffled his team, Helen Pidd asks: is anything likely to change? And with a tough budget looming, can a new story about the government’s purpose be told?
Photograph: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images
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