Sue Grey has stop her function as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s chief of employees, saying she “risked turning into a distraction”.
She had been caught up in rows over pay, after the BBC’s political editor revealed her wage was increased than Sir Keir’s, and donations from Lord Alli.
A Downing Road spokeswoman confirmed Ms Grey is to take up a brand new function because the PM’s envoy for nations and areas.
Labour mentioned Ms Grey can be changed by Morgan McSweeney, who was beforehand chief adviser to the PM and masterminded Labour’s election marketing campaign.
Resigning, Ms Grey mentioned it had been an honour to “play my half within the supply of a Labour authorities” as Sir Keir’s chief of employees, each in opposition and in No 10.
“Nevertheless in latest weeks it has change into clear to me that intense commentary round my place risked turning into a distraction to the federal government’s important work of change,” she mentioned.
“It’s for that purpose I’ve chosen to face apart, and I look ahead to persevering with to assist the prime minister in my new function.”
Ms Grey has been topic to intense inner briefings and criticism in a authorities but to succeed in its first 100 days in workplace, and it’s that stage of dysfunction that has made it clear to Sir Keir that one thing wanted to shift.
The latest Labour convention was overshadowed by controversy over clothes donations from Labour peer and longstanding donor Lord Waheed Alli, for whom Ms Grey reportedly authorised a brief Downing Road go after the election.
Far more damaging for her, although, was the extent of anger in the direction of her on the coronary heart of presidency, indicated by excessive stage sources being keen to leak the BBC confidential particulars of her wage.
One purpose for that turbulence was particular advisers within the workforce being requested to take pay cuts, on prime of unhappiness a few lack of contracts after the election victory.
Now the prime minster has reshuffled his prime workforce, not solely by selling Mr McSweeney, but in addition making 4 different appointments, most notably by hiring a strategic communications lead.
These bulletins inform us publicly what folks inside authorities have been saying privately for weeks, with the notion that not sufficient of the suitable folks have been in the suitable roles or the suitable buildings – and this, it’s believed, contributed to missteps and unforced errors by the federal government.
The federal government’s listing of deliberate bulletins, identified internally as “the grid”, had been underneath the command of Sue Grey, however will now be underneath the management of the No10 communications workforce, the place some consider it ought to at all times have been.
The transfer follows personal frustration voiced by a number of sources over Downing Road’s communication technique, which has led to the appointment of James Lyons as a strategic communications lead.
Mr Lyons is a former political journalist on the Sunday Occasions and the Day by day Mirror, who went on to work for the NHS and for TikTok, and he’ll now be answerable for plotting the federal government’s communications technique three, six and 9 months forward.
Sir Keir now additionally has two new deputy chiefs of employees, Vidhya Alakeson and Jill Cuthbertson, and a brand new principal personal secretary – a key civil service function for each prime minister – in Nin Pandit.
Ms Cuthbertson is a Labour veteran, who labored for Gordon Brown and Ed Miliband, and has been promoted alongside Ms Alakeson, who labored as a civil servant earlier than working for Labour in opposition after which in No 10.
Thanking Ms Grey for her work making ready Labour for presidency and in Downing Road, Sir Keir mentioned he was “delighted” she would keep by his aspect in her new function, and added the shake-up confirmed his “willpower to ship”.
There may be one other function that can have to be crammed within the coming months, as a result of probably the most senior civil servant within the nation, Simon Case, is stepping down as cupboard secretary on the finish of the yr, following 18 months of remedy for what’s described as a neurological situation.
There had been studies of stress in No 10 between Mr Case and Ms Grey, who changed him as the pinnacle of the Partygate inquiry after it emerged a gathering had taken place in his personal workplace in December 2020.
Lord Gavin Barwell, who labored with Ms Grey in his function as chief of employees to former PM Theresa Might, instructed Radio 4’s The World this Weekend that she had “made the suitable judgment” to face down from her function.
“On a private stage I’ve labored intently with Sue…and she or he is an extremely devoted public servant and I really feel for her, however I feel she’s made the suitable judgment, which is if you’re in this type of job when you change into the story it turns into very exhausting to do the job,” he mentioned.
The Conservative peer criticised the Quantity 10 operation put in place by Sir Keir since turning into prime minister, claiming “as a result of Quantity 10 hasn’t been proper we’ve had authorities by Treasury, an excessive amount of doom and gloom.”
He added right now was a “essential second for the prime minister – he’s bought to get the second iteration of his No 10 operation proper if he’s going to get well a few of the political floor he’s misplaced over the past couple of months.”
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