Someone had to take the fall for the Labour government’s turbulent first 100 days in power and it was never going to be the boss.
Sir Keir Starmer has overhauled his No 10 operation after a dire start in government (Image: Getty)
So the departure of his top aide, Sue Gray, was inevitable.
It is not quite clear if she jumped or was pushed but at that level it amounts to the same thing.
Sir Keir’s popularity has plummeted by a staggering 44 points on his post-election high.
Ms Gray was tainted in the eyes of many voters from the start. Supporters of Boris Johnson viewed her investigation into him over so-called partygate with fresh suspicion after the civil servant left Whitehall to work for the Labour Party.
She caused upset in the junior ranks with a paypacket bigger than the Prime Minister’s at a time when some were struggling to get paid at all and particularly at a rate they thought reasonable.
Crucially, she was at odds with Morgan McSweeney, the man who masterminded Sir Keir’s landslide victory and now has her job.
Mr McSweeney is by reputation a Labour man through and through who gets things done rather than a technocrat accused of blocking access and information.
But regardless of the personal qualities or failings, responsibility for the dismal start rests with the PM.
He put two people at the heart of his operation who inevitably created separate power bases, a situation that could never last.
It was Sir Keir who took freebies while cutting winter fuel payments but failed to see why voters were angry.
The Prime Minister sets the tone and the direction as Sir Keir repeatedly made clear when Mr Johnson was in power.
Ms Gray’s departure gives Sir Keir a chance to reset but if the trouble continues, voters will be left to conclude the problem lies with him.
SEE MORE :
Blow for Rachel Reeves as record millionaires set to flee UK before tax raids
New research has issued a damning warning that the Labour Government will seriously harm Britain’s economy over the next five years as millionaires flee the country.
The respected Adam Smith Institute think tank has published new data this evening revealing that the UK is set to lose the greatest proportion of millionaires in the world over the course of this parliament.
The share of the country’s millionaire population will fall by a whopping 20 percent between now and 2028, according to the instate.
This means that the UK will see fewer millionaires as a share of its population by 2028 than any other country, including rogue states like China and Russia who are under significant international sanctions.
By the end of this parliament, the percentage of Britons with at least $1 million dollars to their name will fall from 4.55 percent to 3.62 percent, a drop of 20 percent.
Rachel Reeves could preside over a flow of millionaires leaving the country (Image: Getty)
The Netherlands will lose five percent, and Saudi Arabia three percent, the only two other countries set to see their rich population drop.
By contrast Taiwan is forecast to see their millionaire numbers surge by 51 percent over the same period, with comparable countries likes Canada, Germany, Spain and France set to grow their figures between 14 percent and 19 percent.
The ASI puts the pending millionaire flight down to the fact they pay a significantly greater share of tax, especially income tax, with the top one percent of earners paying 29.1 percent of the country’s total income tax.
Labour’s planned changes to non-dom tax status, high levels of general taxation and a hostile culture for wealth creators are also fingered as causes of the outflux.
Former Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi described the forecast as a ‘vote of no confidence’ in Britain (Image: Getty)
Reacting to the paper’s findings, former Chancellor of the Exchequer Nadhim Zahawi described the forecast departure of Britain’s wealth creators as a “vote of no confidence” in the economy and Government’s policies.
He said: “The rate at which millionaires are leaving the UK is a vote of no confidence in both our current tax and regulatory regime, and anti-business and anti-prosperity measures that could be coming down the line.”
“These individuals are often entrepreneurs and business owners. Their exit won’t just reduce necessary funds for public services- it will decrease investment in the wider economy too.
“I urge the Government to rule out anything in the Autumn Budget on October 30 that could drive them away even more. They should instead be focusing on attracting more millionaires from across the world to make a home and set up shop in Britain.
“Abandoning anti-non-dom policies and abolishing or cutting anti-wealth taxes would be a vital first step.”
The ASI’s director of research Maxwell Marlow added that the paper should be a “wake-up call to the Government” but optimistically said that a review of the country’s tax and regulatory policies could reverse the trend.
This weekend the Institute for Fiscal Studies called on Rachel Reeves to double down on the UK’s wealthy-hating tax system, and impose an ‘exit tax’ on those leaving the country to save money.
Critics however warned it would put off millionaires from ever moving to the UK in the first place to set up their businesses.
Charlie Mullins, founder of Pimlico Plumbers, has already said he is ready to have “no assets in the UK” ahead of expected tax hikes in this October’s budget.
