Analysis
Sue
Gray’s replacement quells No 10 spad rebellion – for now
Pippa Crerar
Political
editor
After
complaints over pay and life in government, Labour’s special advisers seem
placated by Morgan McSweeney’s more conciliatory tone
Thu 10 Oct
2024 20.45 BST
Clashes
between powerful figures inside Downing Street and special advisers are nothing
new. Dominic Cummings – Boris Johnson’s right-hand man inside No 10 – had
several high-profile bust-ups with spads, as they’re known, which even led to
the departure of a cabinet minister.
Theresa
May’s pugilistic chiefs of staff Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill became known for
their confrontational style. Hill, in particular, made herself unpopular with
ministers, Tory MPs and advisers alike with her blunt text messages.
It is,
though, unprecedented for the entire spad cadre to feel so aggrieved over how
they believe they’re being treated that they come together to take a stand. Yet
last month, many of Labour’s spads were revealed to have joined a union over
concerns about their pay.
They used
their contacts in the media to complain not just about their own situation –
with many offered salaries lower than those of their Tory predecessors, and
temporary contracts – but also what they perceived to be a lack of
understanding in No 10 of the political side of the operation.
Fairly or
otherwise, the finger of blame was pointed at Sue Gray, Keir Starmer’s former
chief of staff, who had also become the target of criticism over blocking
access to the prime minister and holding up decisions.
“We were
really angry over the lack of transparency over pay. There was so much
pettiness,” one spad told the Guardian. “There was no reason for not telling us
pay scales or what Tory advisers had got – we had to find out from officials.
It put everybody’s backs up from the get go.”
Another
said: “The fundamental issue is that Sue Gray did not value the contribution
that political advisers make. We can talk about pay and all of that but
ultimately this is about the value at which those jobs were regarded.”
Last
weekend, it all came to a head. Starmer, having been warned by senior aides and
cabinet ministers that he had to “get a grip” on the No 10 operation or risk
internal power struggles undermining the government, asked Gray to step aside.
His top
political aide, Morgan McSweeney, was given the role in her place. He had
worked alongside many spads in opposition and at the coalface of the election
campaign, and many felt that he was one of them. No 10 hoped his appointment
would mean the spad rebellion would be over.
It was no
surprise, then, that more than 50 special advisers and Labour officials crowded
into a committee room in the House of Commons on Tuesday night to listen to the
man who had just taken over as No 10 chief of staff.
The weekly
meeting, known as “Spad school” under the Conservatives, was McSweeney’s first
opportunity to address the whole group about their grievances since Gray was
ousted. He was greeted with warm applause.
“He told us
this will be sorted, I’m getting a grip of it and it should never have
happened,” one said. “There’s an understanding that it will be sorted very,
very quickly.”
Another
said: “He gave us an undertaking to address pay and so on. He knows how hard we
all worked and acknowledged that things should have been better when we got
here. That’s the first time that has happened.”
Others
described his 10-minute speech to aides as a “pep talk” to reignite the sense
of camaraderie that had existed during the general election campaign but had
been lacking since.
“I don’t
think one talk will change everything overnight but it definitely helped,” one
said.
Another
added: “The genuine feeling is that this has been resolved now and it’s going
to get to a better place.”
McSweeney
told them he wanted, in his new role, to help the different teams of spads
across departments deliver on the government’s priorities. But there was no
mention of Gray. Nor were they disciplined for briefing against her.
After he
left, the group was addressed by Ellie Reeves, the Labour party chair, as well
as Matthew Doyle, the director of communications, who gave them a commitment
that the grid – the weekly diary of announcements – would improve.
Afterwards,
special advisers told the Guardian they felt reassured their concerns would be
dealt with. “It’s night and day. We’re much more optimistic. There’s a sense
that everybody is pulling in the right direction now,” one said.
“This is
about the strategic direction of the government and how it functions. Our mood
reflected dismay at how Sue Gray had done things without due attention being
given to the political side of things.”
Even Starmer
is feeling more upbeat after a particularly difficult few days. One ally said:
“Keir seemed very chipper when I saw him this week. He does this sometimes – he
has a big clear-out of staff and it cheers him up, but usually only for a
couple of months.”
But some in
Westminster caution the spads from assuming that all their concerns over pay
and contracts will be resolved immediately. The Cabinet Office had already
announced a review into pay scales last month.
Peter
Cardwell, a former Tory adviser and author of The Secret Life of Special
Advisers, said: “It’s easy to agree to a pay review, but it doesn’t mean your
pay is going to go up, or that you get what you want.
“At the end
of the day the power is with senior figures like McSweeney and the Cabinet
Office and the number of spads and overall staffing bill will be factors in
this. They’re feeling that things are better and want to see what happens. But
will No 10 deliver?”
The former
spad, who worked in three different government departments, explained how it
was a “weird” role with no real job description and people with vastly
different levels of experience, making it harder to have a single pay
structure.
“Some are
glorified bag handlers and others have very serious input on politics, policy,
media, and have their boss’s ear. How do you adjust for pay?” he added.
Senior
Whitehall figures also warn there will be no sudden resolution to the conflict.
No 10 has agreed in principle to the pay review but is understood still to be
haggling over the terms of reference.
“Everyone
assumes it will be fixed under Morgan,” one says. “But I suspect they’ll be
disappointed.”
Nor should
Downing Street be reassured that the spad rebellion is over for good. One
adviser said they hoped there would be no more problems. But they added: “Were
there to be, a marker has been laid down.”
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