What on earth is going on in Downing Street? On what possible grounds is the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff, Sue Gray, paid more – out of our money – than the Prime Minister himself? What message does that send out? Who is really in charge?
Are the Labour government on the side of working people? (Image: Getty)
And it is even suggested she was even warned a story like this would happen, easily avoided if she’d just opted for a few quid less than Sir Keir. But no, apparently it’s okay for her to be the only woman in her 60s better off under this Labour Government. In a Government of own-goals, this is a whopper and hugely insulting to hard-working taxpayers.
Let us remember that Labour want to portray themselves as on the side of workers. It’s in every other soundbite issued. Yet the only way to stack that argument up is to look at what they are doing to non-workers in the form of pensioners, viciously leaving thousands of them without the funds to heat their homes this winter.
They’re certainly not on the side of their own Labour workers, with Special Advisors (SpAds) taking what they thought would be cushy numbers in Whitehall and big pay increases compared to their privately funded Opposition roles just a few months ago. But no, the lower ranking SpAds are apparently taking pay cuts, whilst the boss-lady creams it in at our expense.
Worse than that many are reported to have worked for weeks before even being offered a contract and pay settlement, forced to accept something much less than they had been led to believe. It’s almost Victorian in attitude. Labour SpAds must be wondering if they’re also about to be sent up the chimney with a brush.
It is no wonder one angry Government insider is reported as having branded Gray’s pay as “the highest ever special adviser salary in the history of special advisers”. This is Labour’s Britain folks. If this is how they treat some of their own, Heaven help us all ahead of the brutal budget coming next month.
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The HS2 boss you’ve never heard of who earned an insane £480k more than Keir Starmer
Mark Thurston, who left HS2 last year, was earning almost four times the PM’s salary (Image: GETTY)
In total, 373 senior civil servants and senior officials in departments, agencies, and non-departmental public bodies earned more than the PM in 2022, the latest year for which figures are available.
The highest paid of those was Mark Thurston, Chief Executive of High-Speed Two Ltd.
His job had a top ceiling of £644,999 a year, although he left his job almost a year ago.
He’s followed by Andrew Haines, Chief Executive of Network Rail. His job had a top pay ceiling of £589,999 a year.
Meanwhile, Jeremy Westlake, Chief Financial Officer of Network Rail had a top limit of £419,999. Alison Atkinson, who was until last year Chief Executive & Managing Director of AWE plc, had a top limit of £414,999, and David Peattie, Chief Executive Officer of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority had a limit of £399,999.
The appointment of Ms Gray, a former senior civil servant whose report into lockdown-era parties within Downing Street contributed to the downfall of then-prime minister Boris Johnson, to Sir Keir’s team has been controversial.
Speaking today, Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds insisted ministers have “no political input” in the pay of their advisers.
Sue Gray earns £3,000 more than Sir Keir Starmer (Image: Getty)
Mr Reynolds said there was a “long-standing process” for determining earnings for aides and dismissed suggestions that the Prime Minister had personally intervened to increase Sue Gray’s pay.
Disclosures that Ms Gray received a pay rise after the election which means she earns more than Sir Keir have sparked a row within Government and prompted opposition critics to demand answers about how the decision was made.
Mr Reynolds told Sky News: “I think it’s important people understand that the pay bands for any official, any adviser, are not set by politicians. There’s an official process that does that.
“I don’t, for instance, get to set the pay for my own advisers who work directly for me.
“So there’s a process, we don’t have political input into that.”
He added: “Sue Gray is getting on with the job of this Government delivering on our promises, I think that’s what matters more than anything else for anyone who works in Downing Street, and I can assure you that is exactly what is happening.”
Sue Gray’s report helped sink Boris Johnson’s Premiership (Image: Getty)
HS2 Ltd continues to operate within its annual budget delegated by government, the spokesman added.
Mr Thurston left the company on September 30, 2023, after six and a half years in post. Mark Wild is due to replace him, but his start date has yet to be confirmed, as has his annual salary.
An NDA spokesperson said: “We are tasked with cleaning-up the UK’s 17 earliest nuclear sites safely, securely and cost effectively – the scale and complexity of our mission is significant.
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds (Image: Getty)
“We employ around 17,000 people, our annual budget is around £4 billion, and we generated around £1 billion of revenue last year.
“We must compete with other organisations, including in the private sector, to attract and retain high calibre and experienced people to lead this nationally critical work.”
A Network Rail spokesperson said: “Over recent years we have reduced our executives’ total wage bill and the number of high earners.
“We are absolutely committed to delivering more value for the taxpayer, while also balancing this priority with the need to attract and retain the best people to ensure the railway further improves performance for passengers and freight and continues to support economic growth for our country.”
A Government source told Express.co.uk non-departmental public bodies – such as Network Rail, AWE and the NDA – are not government departments and their chief executives are not classified as civil servants.
Express.co.uk has also approached AWE plc for comment about the salary details.
