The name Morgan McSweeney may not mean much outside Westminster, but inside Labour it provokes strong feelings. The Downing Street chief of staff is viewed by some MPs as the party’s hidden strategist by others as a toxic presence at the heart of government.
Reports that Sir Keir Starmer recently “screamed” at McSweeney over the Peter Mandelson debacle, telling him “You were supposed to protect me,” have fuelled the impression that Labour’s early months in office are unravelling.
A Government Within a Government
Many MPs now believe this is not so much Starmer’s government as McSweeney’s. When appointments raise eyebrows such as sending Mandelson to Washington as ambassador it is McSweeney’s judgement, not Starmer’s, that is really being questioned.
The recent reshuffle strengthened that perception. Three cabinet ministers were removed all, insiders claim, on McSweeney’s list.
- Angela Rayner was already under fire over her tax affairs, but the Blairite wing of the party, with McSweeney at its centre, had long pushed for her removal.
- Lucy Powell, who clashed with him repeatedly, was dropped as Commons leader. She is now running for deputy leader against the Starmer-McSweeney favourite, Bridget Phillipson.
- Ian Murray was replaced by former Blairite Douglas Alexander, a move one insider said reflected McSweeney’s “obsession with Blair-era figures.”
Even the whips’ office bears his stamp, with his wife Imogen Walker installed after winning a safe seat last year one of many candidates seen as “parachuted” in under his watch.
The Blairite Shadow
McSweeney, 48, first came to prominence during Labour’s Corbyn years, when he worked to steer the party away from the far left as director of Labour Together. He was central in handpicking Starmer as Corbyn’s successor, then ran the successful election campaign that brought Labour back to power. But critics say the government arrived in office with little policy depth, and McSweeney’s dominance has since filled that vacuum.
Sue Gray, initially brought in as chief of staff, was forced out within a year a move seen as clearing the path for McSweeney’s unchallenged control.
Starmer’s Dilemma
The Mandelson row has reignited calls from Labour MPs to sack him. But Starmer is caught: without McSweeney, his authority is weakened, leaving him exposed to a potential leadership challenge as early as next May. With McSweeney, he risks further chaos and accusations of being a puppet prime minister.
Either way, the picture is of two men locked together in mutual dependence, shouting across a shrinking room, each knowing that the other’s downfall spells his own.
