Keir Starmer will chalk up 100 days as prime minister subsequent Saturday.
He’ll achieve this with out his now-former chief of employees Sue Grey, who immediately carried the can for the chaos which has engulfed the federal government since Labour’s landslide election victory simply three months in the past.
Though the official line from No.10 was that Grey resigned, HuffPost UK has realized that the PM in the end determined that she needed to go.
A senior Labour supply mentioned: “Change was wanted. Issues weren’t working correctly. Higher to do it now than let it drag on.”
It’s understood that the ultimate straw was the choice, blamed on Grey, that Starmer ought to pay again round £6,000 for hospitality and presents he has obtained from Labour supporters since turning into prime minister.
The transfer seemed to be an request for forgiveness by the PM, and inevitably led to different ministers being requested whether or not they can be following swimsuit. Thus far, none have completed so.
“That was the nail within the coffin,” mentioned one senior Labour determine.
One other insider added: “That is Keir’s typical sample – one thing drifts on for some time after which he acts onerous and ruthelessly.”
Grey has additionally been blamed for the brand new authorities’s full failure to set the political climate since July 4.
As Starmer’s chief of employees in opposition, it was thought that she would use her huge expertise from her time within the civil service to meticulously draw up after which implement Labour’s plan for presidency.
“Individuals are aggravated concerning the lack of preparation,” mentioned one Downing Avenue supply. “It’s truly unforgivable.”
Final month’s Labour convention – which Grey didn’t attend – was imagined to be a reset second.
However the row over freebies for senior Labour figures has refused to go away, utterly overshadowing the federal government’s makes an attempt to get again on the entrance foot.
In the meantime, rumours concerning the unhealthy blood amongst Starmer’s officers – specifically the long-running feud between Grey and the PM’s chief adviser, Morgan McSweeney – continued.
She acknowledged the harm that was doing in her resignation assertion, wherein she admitted that the hypothesis about her personal place had grow to be “a distraction to the federal government’s very important work”.
So as to add insult to harm for Grey, McSweeney has changed her as chief of employees as a part of a significant shake-up inside No.10.
One authorities aide mentioned: “Morgan’s the political equal of Yoda. He will likely be excellent.
“He ran some of the disciplined, strategic and profitable election campaigns in historical past. Folks mentioned we might by no means win the social gathering again from the onerous left – Morgan did it.”
Grey has not disappeared utterly, and her new function as Starmer’s envoy for the nations and areas will likely be an necessary one, albeit far much less influential than her earlier job.
The Tories – lots of whom have by no means forgiven Grey for her partygate report which in the end led to Boris Johnson’s elimination from workplace – can hardly imagine their luck.
“Sue Grey was introduced in to ship a programme for presidency and all we’ve seen in that point is a authorities of self-service,” mentioned a Conservative spokesperson. “The one query that is still is who will run the nation now?”
With a parliament-defining Price range barely three weeks away, Starmer must rapidly present that he’s the one calling the photographs. His choice to oust Sue Grey is his first step in the direction of doing simply that.
