Is this what’s wrong with Britain? Keir Starmer has booted out the top woman in his Downing Street team. Some say it is a symptom of a rotten mindset that is holding the country back.
Fury over Sue Gray media 'witch hunt'
Is this what's wrong with Britain? Keir Starmer has booted out the top woman in his Downing Street team. Some say it is a symptom of a rotten mindset that is holding the country back.
After a month of disasters and terrible headlines, Keir Starmer takes drastic action. He shakes up his operation, demotes key people and promotes allies in their place, and resolves to move on.
That was not this week but in 2021, after his party lost a key by-election in HartlepoolA seaside town in northern England.. In response, Starmer sacked his shadow chancellor, Annaliese DoddsA UK Labour party politician and the current Minister of State for Development. , and put Rachel ReevesA UK Labour party politician and the current chancellor of the exchequer. in her place, indicating a shift to strict fiscalRelated to government money, especially taxes. discipline.1
Many saw echoes of this approach in his decision over the weekend to sack Sue GrayA senior civil servant who entered the public eye for the first time when she was tasked with investigating lockdown breaches in government. In 2024, she was briefly Keir Starmer's chief of staff., his chief of staffThe leader of a large and complex body or organisation. .
There are many different ways of understanding the Sue Gray story. In one telling, this is a "boys' club" led by Morgan McSweeneyAn Irish political aide who has worked for the UK Labour party and for PM Keir Starmer. , Starmer's chief political adviser and now Gray's successor, getting together to kick a talented woman out of her job so they could take over in her stead.2
Others see her as a scapegoatA person who is made to take the blame for the wrongdoings of others. The term originates from a ceremony during the Jewish holy day Yom Kippur, in which the sins of the people were symbolically placed upon a goat. The goat was then sent into the wilderness. whom Starmer is using to draw a line under a torrid three months.
Less sympathetic observers say she only has herself to blame. In the last three months she has made herself deeply unpopular with other government figures.
First she was accused of failing to prepare incoming ministers for their new jobs. Then many cried foul after she forced other advisers to accept lower pay than their Conservative predecessors, but accepted an unprecedentedly high salary herself.3
As chief of staff, it was also her job to find a way of dealing with the freebies row, but instead the government floundered for weeks as it struggled to find the right line to shut it down.
Critics say this paralysis extended to everything in 10 Downing StreetThe official residence of the British prime minister. . Government departments report they had difficulty getting through to Starmer, as Gray insisted everything must go through her.4
And then there are those who say the Gray story is really a symptom of a whole country mired in an extended navel-gazing exercise.
Yesterday, they point out, was the first anniversary of the 7 OctoberOn 7 October 2023, the Palestinian group Hamas, which controls Gaza, carried out a series of surprise attacks on Israel, killing more than 1,000 people and taking more than 200 hostages. massacre and the beginning of the war that is claiming thousands of lives in the Middle East. Yet all the front pages in the UK were focused on a minor government reshuffle.
They argue the row over Gray's pay was proof of an essential meanness in our mindset. Experts have long claimed that the UK pays its ministers and top civil servantsAnyone working in a government department. The civil service has long-standing traditions and strict codes of conduct that can make it a law unto itself. far too little. The result is that they go to the private sector instead, depriving the government of talent.5
And this approach, they say, is what is holding Britain back: a reluctance to pay more now for better results in future.
Just as we refuse to pay our civil servants enough to lure talented people away from the private sector, we also refuse to invest funds in our industries, our railways, our roads, and our communities, even though this would bring in more money in the long run.6
But others dismiss the idea we can extrapolate all this from one little row in government. They say this is just Starmer doing what he did three years ago: identifying a problem, taking drastic action to solve it, and moving on with a more efficient operation.
Is this what's wrong with Britain?
Yes: The whole country is preoccupied with the latest lot of sound and fury, signifying nothing. There is little attempt at a serious analysis of our failings and the policy prescriptions needed to solve them.
No: Starmer sacked Gray because she was doing her job badly. The whole episode has no relevance beyond that simple fact.
Or... This story does not necessarily indicate any wider problem: when a prime minister makes a major personnel change, the media will always take an interest. But that does not mean the bigger issues do not exist.
Keywords
Hartlepool - A seaside town in northern England.
Annaliese Dodds - A UK Labour party politician and the current Minister of State for Development.
Rachel Reeves - A UK Labour party politician and the current chancellor of the exchequer.
Fiscal - Related to government money, especially taxes.
Sue Gray - A senior civil servant who entered the public eye for the first time when she was tasked with investigating lockdown breaches in government. In 2024, she was briefly Keir Starmer's chief of staff.
Chief of staff - The leader of a large and complex body or organisation.
Morgan McSweeney - An Irish political aide who has worked for the UK Labour party and for PM Keir Starmer.
Scapegoat - A person who is made to take the blame for the wrongdoings of others. The term originates from a ceremony during the Jewish holy day Yom Kippur, in which the sins of the people were symbolically placed upon a goat. The goat was then sent into the wilderness.
10 Downing Street - The official residence of the British prime minister.
7 October - On 7 October 2023, the Palestinian group Hamas, which controls Gaza, carried out a series of surprise attacks on Israel, killing more than 1,000 people and taking more than 200 hostages.
Civil servants - Anyone working in a government department. The civil service has long-standing traditions and strict codes of conduct that can make it a law unto itself.
Fury over Sue Gray media ‘witch hunt’
Glossary
Hartlepool - A seaside town in northern England.
Annaliese Dodds - A UK Labour party politician and the current Minister of State for Development.
Rachel Reeves - A UK Labour party politician and the current chancellor of the exchequer.
Fiscal - Related to government money, especially taxes.
Sue Gray - A senior civil servant who entered the public eye for the first time when she was tasked with investigating lockdown breaches in government. In 2024, she was briefly Keir Starmer's chief of staff.
Chief of staff - The leader of a large and complex body or organisation.
Morgan McSweeney - An Irish political aide who has worked for the UK Labour party and for PM Keir Starmer.
Scapegoat - A person who is made to take the blame for the wrongdoings of others. The term originates from a ceremony during the Jewish holy day Yom Kippur, in which the sins of the people were symbolically placed upon a goat. The goat was then sent into the wilderness.
10 Downing Street - The official residence of the British prime minister.
7 October - On 7 October 2023, the Palestinian group Hamas, which controls Gaza, carried out a series of surprise attacks on Israel, killing more than 1,000 people and taking more than 200 hostages.
Civil servants - Anyone working in a government department. The civil service has long-standing traditions and strict codes of conduct that can make it a law unto itself.