Monday, October 7, 2024, 9:03 p.m.
The British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, has marked his return to the government bench of the House of Commons – in the week he marks one hundred days at the head of the Executive – with a drastic remodeling of his team in Downing Street. He has eliminated a central pole in his transition to power plan in the figure of Sue Gray, the veteran official who led the investigation into illicit parties during the confinements of the covid pandemic that sank former Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
The signing was controversial and infuriated conservatives. Starmer ignored the criticism and, after the July 4 victory, appointed Gray as chief of staff to ensure the new administration was prepared to execute the changes promised in the campaign. The political pole of Downing Street fell to Morgan McSweeney, an Irish strategist who is recognized as the architect of Labor’s centrist turn since 2020 and its electoral victory.
But the ‘duopoly’ has not worked. Cohesion was maintained, at least in public, while the party fought from the opposition, but friction soon arose, with leaks to the media and a drop in the popularity of Starmer and his core of ministers.
Split team
With the team divided and dysfunctional, the torrent of revelations about the apparent culture of favoritism in senior Labor circles and the accepted gifts from wealthy donors were not dealt with quickly enough. Nor were shields raised to mitigate the impact of controversial political measures, such as the cut in the energy subsidy for the majority of pensioners or restrictions on aid to families with more than two children.
McSweeney ended up winning the fight and is Starmer’s new chief of staff. He replaces Gray, who confirmed his retirement from Downing Street on Sunday. In his resignation note he accepts that he ran the “risk” of becoming a “distraction from the Government’s important work of change” due to the “intense comments” from his political rivals and the media.
Starmer has now entrusted him with the role of liaison between the central government and the regional and regional administrations in a readjustment that, according to the prime minister’s spokesperson, “strengthens the operation in Downing Street and demonstrates his determination to implement the change” that voters are asking for. .
This Monday Starmer also made a heartfelt statement of solidarity with all the victims in the Middle East on the anniversary of the cruel attack by Hamas, which coincided with the resumption of the parliamentary course after a three-week recess. The Labor leader urged the immediate cessation of hostilities in Gaza, Lebanon and Israel and stressed the urgency of reestablishing the “political route” to the two States as the only “option that offers stability and security.” “May this year of terrifying and bloody conflict never be repeated,” he cried in Westminster.
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