Can Morgan McSweeney reboot the government machine?

The Queen is dead: long live the King. This week brought an end to Downing Street’s unhappy experiment in dyarchy. Out goes Sue Gray, banished to the regions. In her place stands the Irishman who won the No. 10 power struggle: Morgan McSweeney, Keir Starmer’s first chief of staff in opposition, is back on top. McSweeney’s allies believe that the new government will flourish into maturity after a troubled start. ‘We’re back to being political,’ one crows.

The new chief’s strengths are threefold. First, he is familiar with how the PM thinks. Unlike Gray – who knew little of Starmer before her appointment – McSweeney has been intimately involved in his rise to power. He ran Starmer’s leadership campaign in early 2020, served as head of his team for the next 18 months, then moved aside after the Hartlepool by-election humiliation before overseeing Labour’s landslide victory in July. The pair have spoken ‘almost every day for the past five years’, says one adviser, celebrating triumphs and dissecting defeats together. ‘He grew as a leader with Morgan next to him,’ says one insider. ‘They won together – and Morgan grew into this winning figure because of him.’ Aides and officials hope that McSweeney’s knowledge of his master’s mind will help him make decisions faster than Gray.

That knowledge speaks to McSweeney’s second strength: his confidence. ‘He’s won,’ says an adviser. ‘He is clearly the top dog.’ Gray’s demotion – as well as wider staff changes – ends chatter about which of them is more senior. As undisputed head of the No. 10 machine, McSweeney can afford to spread the load of governing. ‘He needs to empower the staff around him so they feel confident to tell secretaries of state what to do,’ says a Whitehall veteran.