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Sir Keir Starmer’s chief of staff, Sue Gray, has resigned from her position after being involved in various controversies, including having a higher salary than Starmer and requesting donations from Lord Alli. Gray will assume a new role as Prime Minister’s envoy for nations and regions. Morgan McSweeney, who previously served as the chief adviser to the Prime Minister, will replace her. Gray claimed that the intense commentary around her position threatened to become a distraction from the government’s vital work of change.
Gray’s resignation stems from the internal division and criticism she faced in a government that has yet to reach its first 100 days in office. This turbulence has resulted in high-level sources leaking confidential details of her salary to the BBC. The Labour conference in recent weeks was also marred by controversy surrounding donations from Lord Waheed Alli. However, Gray’s departure is not the only change of personnel in the government recently.
Four new appointments have been made, including strategic communications lead James Lyons, two new deputy chiefs of staff, Vidhya Alakeson and Jill Cuthbertson, and a new principal private secretary, Nin Pandit. Gray used to manage the government’s list of planned announcements, known as “the grid.” However, this task will now be under the control of the No10 communications squad, where some suggest it should have already been.
There has been private frustration voiced by several sources over Downing Street’s communication plans, resulting in the appointment of James Lyons as a strategic communications lead. Sir Keir says he is “delighted” to see Gray stay by his side in her new place. However, the most senior civil servant in the country, Simon Case, is due to step down as Cabinet Secretary at the end of the year, following an 18-month-long neurological disorder treatment
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