Who is Morgan McSweeney? The Labour election guru replacing Sue Gray as chief of staff

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Louise Thomas

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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 ‘Partygate’ report author 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, and rows over Ms Gray’s £170,000 salary dominated headlines.

Ms Gray’s departure on Sunday triggered a wider reshuffle of Number 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 where he worked at the party's attack and rebuttal unit in Millbank.

Former cabinet minister Alan Milburn hired Mr McSweeney in a key organising role for marginal seats in the 2005 election.

He then campaigned for then-Lambeth council leader Steve Reed, where he sought to take back control of the council from the Conservatives and Lib Dems. 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. He was appointed director of the influential policy group with the primary aim of "to move the Labour party from the hard left" and plot to replace 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 of left-wing views within the party – ideas 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 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.

He also set up the Center for Countering Digital Hate during this time, 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 "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 co-ordinator.

After Labour's victory in the 2024 general election, Mr McSweeney was appointed the 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 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 as his deputies.