Downing Street crisis ‘won’t end with Sue Gray axe’ as Labour faces poll slump: Keir Starmer gathers Cabinet and ‘slaps down new chief of staff’s demand for a reshuffle’
Keir Starmer gathered his Cabinet today amid warnings the Downing Street crisis will not end with the exit of Sue Gray.
The PM and his senior team are struggling to stabilise the government after the dramatic departure of the No10 chief of staff.
Even Sir Keir’s allies have been conceding he must do better after a post-election ‘honeymoon’ cut short by the winter fuel allowance furore, freebies scandal and a Labour civil war.
In a fresh sign of the damage, a More in Common poll has found Labour’s advantage over the Tories – still in chaos as they choose a new leader – has been slashed to a single point.
The looming Budget is set to be a critical moment as Chancellor Rachel Reeves desperately hunts for ways of hiking taxes.
Keir Starmer and his senior team are struggling to stabilise the government after the dramatic departure of the No10 chief of staff
One ally of Ms Gray (pictured) told The Times that she had been a victim of ‘out of control’ special advisers
Angela Rayner arriving for Cabinet today amid warnings the Downing Street crisis will not end with the exit of Ms Gray
Bridget Phillipson (left) and Yvette Cooper (right) in Downing Street for Cabinet today
Health Secretary Wes Streeting arriving for the weekly Cabinet meeting
In a fresh sign of the damage, a More in Common poll has found Labour’s advantage over the Tories – still in chaos as they choose a new leader – has been slashed to a single point
But there are reports that Sir Keir has ruled out conducting a reshuffle of his ministers this year – something apparently wanted by his new chief of staff Morgan McSweeney.
The former campaigns supremo won a bitter power struggle with Ms Gray, who has now been demoted to the PM’s envoy to the regions – although No10 has not said whether she had a pay-off or what her salary will be.
One ally of Ms Gray told The Times that she had been a victim of ‘out of control’ special advisers.
‘Either Starmer wasn’t across what was going on or he was and he let them do it. Frankly neither is a good look,’ they said.
‘You simply can’t have a lot of out-of-control special advisers ousting a chief of staff.’
A Whitehall source added: ‘The dysfunction in Downing Street is not the fault of Sue. There are systemic issues which Starmer has not addressed.
‘Just because she has now gone does not mean that things are going to improve. In some ways if you’re chief of staff all roads lead to your door and you can be blamed for everything.
‘But in reality the ultimate responsibility lies with the prime minister.’
Fielding questions in a round of interviews this morning, Transport Secretary Louise Haigh said it was ‘right that the operations of Downing Street are reviewed and that they properly support the delivery of Government’.
She added: ‘This is a young Government, there is bound to be missteps in the first few months. Very few of us have served in Government before.
‘We have got 14 years of opposition and 14 years of a juggernaut to turn around.’
She added: ‘No Government is perfect and I am not going to sit here today and promise you there is going to be no mistakes made.’
Ms Haigh also denied a jibe from former Labour MP Rosie Duffield that Sir Keir has a ‘woman problem’ – with claims a ‘boys’ club’ forced out Ms Gray.
‘I don’t think the Prime Minister has any problem working with women,’ Ms Haigh said.
‘If you look at the women he has around him, the first female Chancellor, Angela Rayner, the Cabinet is gender balanced, we have more female Labour MPs than there are Tory MPs in total.
‘So I think any sense that the Labour Party has a problem with women – or the Prime Minister – is evidenced by the facts of us.’
The More in Common poll – carried out between Saturday and Monday – found Labour was on 29 per cent. That was down a point since the end of September, while the Tories were up two on 28 per cent.
Reform was up one point on 19 per cent.
Sir Keir’s ratings have plunged in the aftermath of his election landslide
