Sir Keir Starmer’s first 100 days in office, a milestone he will reach on October 13th, have been mired in communications disasters for the beleaguered prime minister. Most recently, Sue Gray, his most senior aide, has quit her role. Indeed, the newspapers are now suggesting that the start of Starmer’s premiership could be “the worst for any PM in British history.”
Gray, who first entered the public eye as the senior civil servant behind the lockdown ‘Partygate’ probe, was supposed to be a key figure in Starmer’s effort to present the ousting of the scandal-ridden Conservatives from office and the return of Labour as a significant “change”—that is, to suggest that “the adults are back in the room.”
Instead, she has received heavy criticism over her acceptance of hundreds of pounds-worth of freebies and for reportedly requesting—and being granted—a salary (£170,000, or €202k) higher than that received by the prime minister. Senior Labour figures, including Cabinet ministers, are also said to have given Starmer “a lot” of negative feedback about Gray’s performance as his chief of staff.
Gray is, of course, merely a symptom of all that is wrong with Labour’s shocking attempt at governance. Starmer himself has received an immense amount of flack for accepting £100,000’s (€119k) worth of gifts and freebies since December 2019. And his handling of key issues since the July election—including his decisions to release thousands of prisoners earlier than normal, to scrap winter fuel payments for millions of pensioners, and to cosy up to Brussels—has also left much to be desired.
The issue of “free gear Keir” accepting luxury gifts at a time of austerity for pensioners shows bad judgement—or at least a failure to understand how ‘the optics’ work in these situations.
The prime minister sparked a new row over the weekend when he decided to give up the Chagos Islands, handing the British Indian Ocean territory to Mauritius without properly updating Parliament, while risking gifting China with a strategic spying post. If these trends continue, Starmer will land himself in even more hot water before his first 100 days in office are through.
Gray will be replaced by top Labour political advisor Morgan McSweeney. The former chief of staff will herself take on an advisory position as “envoy for the regions and nations.” It is not yet clear how much Gray will be paid, if at all.