Sue Gray Says Working in Starmer’s No 10 Was ‘Unbearable’

Baroness Sue Gray has described working in Sir Keir Starmer’s No 10 as “unbearable”, citing relentless internal briefing wars and her disappointment that Starmer failed to act on her concerns. Speaking on the Political Currency podcast, she revealed she was leaving the office late to avoid the toxic atmosphere, saying the period was “very, very, very difficult”. The Telegraph has the story:

Working in Sir Keir Starmer’s No 10 was “unbearable”, Baroness Sue Gray has said.

In her first interview since resigning as Sir Keir’s chief of staff, Lady Gray criticised the briefing wars that took place inside the government, saying they were “very, very difficult” and revealed her disappointment that Sir Keir had not done more to tackle briefings by insiders about her in the media.

Lady Gray, who was the most senior adviser in the Labour administration before her departure in 2024, made the comments to Ed Balls on the Political Currency podcast.

Asked by Mr Balls, a former Labour shadow chancellor, about the briefings against her, Lady Gray said they had started while Labour was in opposition, where she would “read about things that I would have said or not said”, which continued into government.

“I had always taken a view as a civil servant and actually as a special adviser that, you know, you should be able to speak freely in rooms,” she said.

“And I couldn’t recall those sorts of discussions being briefed out.

“And yet here I found myself, you know, stories about supposedly trying to move Morgan McSweeney to the back of the building.

“Actually, that was a genuine ‘I can’t believe so many of you are going to sit in this small room, let’s find a better room for you.’”

She continued: “It just got to the point where, you know, everything you say, you feel somebody is recording it.”

Asked whether Sir Keir was willing to act on her concerns, she said: “I talked to him a couple of times about it, and I don’t really want to disclose individual conversations, but I was disappointed that not more was done because I think it could have been done.”

Sir Keir’s government had faced criticism from Labour members, including Lucy Powell, the party’s deputy leader, who described a “boys club” culture in No 10, with a pattern of “anonymous nasty briefings” – particularly against women.

“It was definitely unbearable, particularly for me,” Lady Gray said. “And I would say that none of that briefing came from me.

“I think it was very difficult, and it was just affecting me and my life.

“I was getting into the office very early in the morning. I was leaving late to avoid… It was [a] very, very, very difficult period.”

Asked about the lack of positive vision in the early days of the Labour government and her responsibility for that, she said: “I think ultimately, you have a leader of the party, you have a prime minister, leader of the opposition. You have to set your vision, your agenda, and that is definitely what everybody is looking for.”

Worth reading in full.