Morgan McSweeney: Who is Sue Gray’s replacement and Labour election guru behind Keir Starmer’s rise to power?

Labour election guru Morgan McSweeney will take over as Sir Keir Starmer’s chief of staff, after Sue Gray quit citing fears she was “becoming a distraction” to the government.

The author of the “Partygate” report has been a high-profile figure in Sir Keir’s top team since she was appointed while Labour was in opposition last year.

However, in recent weeks Sir Keir’s Downing Street operation has been plagued by reports of infighting as rows over Ms Gray’s £170,000 salary dominated the headlines.

Ms Gray’s departure on Sunday triggered a wider reshuffle in No 10. She will be replaced as chief of staff by Mr McSweeney, one of the key figures in Labour’s election campaign, who is reported to have clashed with Ms Gray.

As Labour election guru and one of Sir Keir’s closest aides, Mr McSweeney has huge influence within the party and was credited with Labour’s landslide general election victory earlier this year.

But who exactly is Morgan McSweeney?

Mr McSweeney, 47, grew up in Macroom in County Cork, Ireland. He joined the Labour Party in 1997, working at the party’s attack and rebuttal unit in Millbank.

He was then hired by cabinet minister Alan Milburn in a key organising role for marginal seats in the 2005 election.

Later he campaigned for Steve Reed, who was seeking to take back control of Lambeth Council from the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats. He worked as chief of staff for Mr Reed at Lambeth Council.

Following Labour’s defeat in the 2010 election, Mr McSweeney became head of the Labour Group Office at the Local Government Association.

Mr Reed and Mr McSweeney stuck together and later formed the Labour Together think tank in 2017. Mr McSweeney was appointed director of the influential policy group with the primary aim “to move the Labour Party from the hard left” and replace the then leader, Jeremy Corbyn.

He has been credited with Sir Keir’s rise to power within the party and shifting it back to the centre.

As part of his strategy, he also focused on reducing the popularity within the party of the left-wing views that had been popularised by Mr Corbyn.

When Mr McSweeney arrived in the leader of the opposition’s office after Sir Keir’s leadership victory in 2020, he ensured that supporters of Mr Corbyn were removed from every lever of power inside the party. He was quickly chosen as Sir Keir’s chief of staff.

During this time, he also set up the Center for Countering Digital Hate. The organisation was initially designed to target antisemitism, which had become a huge problem for the party.

Mr McSweeney was appointed as Labour’s director of campaigns in September 2021. The Times previously reported that “those who question his authority inevitably find Starmer sides with McSweeney”.

Kevan Jones, the former MP for North Durham, previously told the Financial Times: “Morgan is a driven individual who ruffles feathers and isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but he gets the job done. The results speak for themselves, he knows what he’s doing whatever people think of him.”

During the general election campaign, Mr McSweeney worked closely with Pat McFadden, who was election coordinator.

After Labour’s victory in the 2024 general election, Mr McSweeney was appointed the party’s head of political strategy alongside Paul Ovenden.

Several newspapers have described tensions between Ms Gray and Mr McSweeney, and The Guardian previously reported that one unnamed cabinet minister had said: “One or both of them will have to go. It’s not going to be Morgan.”

Following Ms Gray’s resignation on Sunday, he was appointed Downing Street chief of staff. Vidhya Alakeson and Jill Cuthbertson were appointed his deputies.