Sue Gray quit as the Downing Street chief of staff with a statement on Sunday (Image: PA )
At the weekend Ms Gray, who was seen as a key figure in the departure of former PM Boris Johnson over her Covid “partygate” report, quit as the Downing Street chief of staff.
Ms Gray cited fears she was “becoming a distraction” to Sir Keir Starmer’s government.
In a statement, Ms Gray said she was “pleased to have accepted a new role as the Prime Minister’s envoy for the regions and nations”, and Sir Keir thanked her for her support.
Ms Gray has been a high-profile figure in Sir Keir’s top team since she was appointed as chief while Labour were in opposition last year.
Sue Gray sensationally left her position last week (Image: PA )
But in recent weeks, Number 10 has been plagued by stories of infighting, as rows over Ms Gray’s salary being higher than the PM’s and Government freebies have dominated the headlines.
According to the Telegraph, Ms Gray could take a pay cut from her £170K salary, which was £3,000 more than Sir Keir’s pay packet, when she is moved to a new role which is understood to be “part-time”.
The newspaper reports the new position taken by Ms Gray could be paid less than the Prime Minister’s wage and that it was even possible she could be “unpaid for the work” because of the nature of the position.
Sir Keir Starmer wants to ensure he had “the right structures in place going forward to deliver change for the country,” Downing Street said when asked whether Sue Gray was sacked.
Asked whether it could be inferred from Ms Gray’s departure that the right structures had not been in place in Downing Street, the spokesman said: “I think it’s right to reflect on the first weeks and months in office to ensure that you do have the right structures in place going forward to deliver change for the country and as the Prime Minister said the appointments he’s made will strengthen the Downing Street operation and demonstrate his determination to deliver the change that the country voted for.”
Sue Gray has reportedly been moved to a different department by Sir Keir (Image: PA )
Defence Secretary John Healey said Ms Gray had played a “massive role” in helping the party but had “become a distraction”.
Ms Gray stepped aside citing “intense commentary about my position”, after rows over her salary and freebies given to Cabinet ministers and MPs cast a shadow over Labour’s annual party conference.
Replacing her is Morgan McSweeney, who led the party’s election campaign and with whom she was reported to have clashed.
Critics have said the new Labour administration was failing to set out a clear vision for Government, with some saying the timing of the Budget at the end of October has allowed negative stories to fill a news vacuum.
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.
