At the helm of Keir Starmer’s new Downing Street operation will be Sue Gray, Keir Starmer’s all powerful chief of staff, who has quickly become his political fixer and mediator in the 10 months she has been in post.
The former senior civil servant had responsibility for the Labour party’s transition to power, and will now be in the room for every big decision, from who to hire and fire to which world leaders to meet and how – and when – to implement policies.
Crucially, she has the authority to speak for and take decisions on the prime minister’s behalf. At an event last year, the then opposition leader was about to answer a question when Gray’s voice piped up from the sidelines: “Do you mind if I take this one?”
However, it is not lost on the new team inside No 10 that Labour’s election success means that it will have to invest significant time, focus and energy in keeping its broad voter coalition together, especially having seen how Boris Johnson’s crumbled in just a few years.
Pat McFadden, who as the new chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster will have his hands on delivery right across government, has said a second election victory will require a permanent state of campaigning.
“We’re very alive to the changing nature of what the battle will be,” one senior insider said. “We can’t say that it will be a Conservative/Labour fight in the future.” Another added: “It’s multi-dimensional now. The fight is on multiple fronts. It’s Labour versus the Tories, but also versus Reform, the Greens, the Gaza vote.”
Central to securing a second term, and Starmer’s much vaunted decade of national renewal, will be a “hyperactive” political unit, spearheaded by Labour’s highly focused election chief, Morgan McSweeney – who as head of political strategy will report directly to the prime minister.
Vidhya Alakeson, who was Starmer’s director of external relations in opposition, will take over as political director, running a team that is expected to be larger than in previous administrations, to help shape messaging, conduct research and keep the government on the front foot.
“It will be highly targeted at those who need to hear our message the most,” one source said. That includes Labour’s own party membership, who have been pressurising the leadership over issues such as child poverty.
Paul Ovenden, a close aide who ran the party’s successful attack unit, is understood to be Starmer’s director of political strategy. His operation landed more than 150 attack stories on Tory misdeeds over the course of the campaign. Deborah Mattinson, the strategy director in opposition, is thought to be heading for the Lords.
The first two weeks have been carefully plotted – the speeches and messages for each day next week were written before the election. Matthew Doyle, who worked for Labour under Tony Blair and has been Starmer’s director of communications in opposition, will remain in post.
Steph Driver, a trusted and well-regarded aide who travelled across the country with Starmer during the campaign, will be Doyle’s deputy, while Sophie Nazemi, the Labour party’s ruthlessly efficient press chief, will become press secretary. Alan Lockey, Starmer’s speech writer, is also expected to move across to No 10.
The No 10 policy unit, which will be headed by the existing director of policy, Stuart Ingham, will be a different beast from previous administrations. Rav Athwal, who authored Labour’s manifesto, is expected to be in his team.
One insider suggested that much of the policy work would be done in units led by departmental mission leads with, for example, the Treasury leading on growth policy. “The No 10 unit will be a point of connection, a point of contact,” they added. “It will be more like the nerve system than the brain.”
At Starmer’s side throughout the campaign, and director of his office before it, was Jill Cuthbertson, who is one of the new prime minister’s most relied-upon political aides. “She never drops a ball,” says one colleague. She is expected to take on a senior role in his private office.
There has been much discussion internally about whether Jonathan Ashworth, the former Labour MP who played a key role in the election campaign but who lost his seat in a shock result, could be brought in. He previously worked for Gordon Brown in Downing Street.
“He was at the forefront of our attack strategy,” one source said. “He’s been brilliant and we want him back, whenever he is ready. There will be a job for him in the operation if he wants it.”
Others have suggested he could take on a policy “tsar” type role or go into the House of Lords.
The relationship between No 10 and the parliamentary Labour party will take on an added significance now that they have 411 MPs, the vast majority of them new to Westminster.
Matthew Faulding, who previously ran the PLP office, is expected to play a key role in helping manage backbenchers, many of whom will be highly ambitious but will have to wait for a ministerial role.
Jessica Morden, Starmer’s parliamentary private secretary in the last parliament and an important contact point with the party – along with the Labour whips office – is understood to be planning to run for the powerful role of PLP chair, leaving a vacancy that No 10 will be keen to fill.
The first meeting of the group will take place on Monday afternoon, at which they are expected to pose for pictures with the new prime minister.
Rachel Reeves will have her own team of advisers working out of No 11 – which is connected to the prime minister’s offices – and the Treasury.
Key among these will be her chief of staff, Katie Martin, who has been the new chancellor’s most trusted aide and gatekeeper since 2021, helping her to build close relations with the City of London.
She is no stranger to life inside Whitehall, her previous jobs including chief press officer in Downing Street under Gordon Brown. She has also worked as director of external affairs at Citizens Advice.
In a notable case of nominative determinism, Matt Pound, a key backroom figure at Labour headquarters who has worked closely with McSweeney and David Evans, the general secretary, to transform Labour, will join Reeves’ team as political secretary. Ben Nunn, a former Starmer aide turned close friend, will continue as her press chief.
