From stories about freebies and donors to anger over winter fuel payment cuts, Labourâs first months in power have been surprisingly rocky. And alongside these headlines have been rumours that inside Downing Street things are no smoother, thanks to the power struggle between two of Starmerâs top aides: Morgan McSweeney, head of strategy, and Sue Gray, chief of staff.
Jessica Elgot, the Guardianâs deputy political editor, says there were rows over access to Starmer, with complaints that Gray was too controlling over his time. And eventually she became a lightening rod for the criticism that Labourâs message was getting lost in the noise around the bad press. Jess says some Labour insiders believed âif you were telling the story right thereâs a lot to say, but somehow all weâre talking about is infighting in Downing Streetâ.
Now Gray has gone and Starmer has reshuffled his team, Helen Pidd asks: is anything likely to change? And with a tough budget looming, can a new story about the governmentâs purpose be told?
Photograph: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images
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