Keir Starmer has insisted he is “completely in control” amid a row within government over the salary taken up by his chief of staff, Sue Gray.
It was reported on Wednesday that Gray, one of the prime minister’s closest advisers, received a pay rise that means she is now paid more than the PM.
The story, briefed to BBC News by several sources, painted a picture of fractious relationships in No 10 and Whitehall at large, mere months into Labour’s tenure.
The news sparked particular consternation as Labour Party special advisers feel they have been underpaid since entering government.
According to the BBC, Gray receives a salary of £170,000. That is £3,000 more than the prime minister, whose salary is £166,786.
Speaking to BBC South East ahead of his party’s conference, which begins Sunday, Starmer said he was “not going to get into discussions about individual salaries”.
But when pushed about the anonymous briefings that led to the revelations of Gray’s salary, Starmer argued he remains “completely in control.”
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Starmer said: “Look, I’ve got a team here at No. 10 and around the cabinet table who are utterly determined and focused on the change that we were elected to bring about.
“We have already set up a national wealth fund, we have already put in place housing frameworks… we’ve already started taking the first step to reduce our waiting list in our hospitals.
“They’re the things that the team here, that the cabinet, the whole Labour party in government is absolutely focused on.”
Pressed further on the series of leaks apparently emanating from No 10, Starmer said: “I’m completely in control. I’m focused and every day the message from me to the team is exactly the same, which is we have to deliver. We were elected on a big mandate to deliver change, I am determined that we are going to do that.”
Gray joined the Labour Party in November 2022 after she left her role as the head of the UK Civil Service’s Propriety and Ethics Team, where she was notably involved in the “Partygate” investigation into lockdown gatherings during the pandemic.
Recent stories have suggested strained relations between two of the prime minister’s closest aides — one being Gray and the other Starmer’s director of political strategy, Morgan McSweeney.
Over the weekend, the prime minister sought to play down the rumours about Gray, saying: “I’m not going to talk behind her back and I’m not going to talk about individual members of staff, whether it’s Sue Gray or any other member of staff.
“All I can say about the stories is most of them are wildly wrong.”
Josh Self is Editor of Politics.co.uk, follow him on X/Twitter here.
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