Keir Starmer has reshaped the Labour party almost unrecognisably in just three and a half years and has an entirely new team working on getting into power at the next election. These are the key people advising, influencing and masterminding the Labour leader’s effort to become prime minister. Many of them would expect to follow him into Downing Street, becoming the next cadre of chiefs of staff, special advisers and members of the No 10 policy unit if the public votes Starmer into the top job.
Morgan McSweeney: Starmer’s director of campaigns is the most influential backroom operator in the party. McSweeney, who is Irish and the founder of a group called Labour Together, is behind the team’s plan to win power – from gaining control of the party machinery and list of candidates, to making sure the centre has a tight grip on policy and message discipline. He helped run Starmer’s Labour leadership bid and served as chief of staff before moving to work more politically on the election. Sue Gray: The former senior civil servant has been a household name since she wrote the official report into the Partygate scandal. Before that, she held senior Whitehall roles including head of the propriety and ethics unit, ruling and advising on cases of misconduct. Her move to Labour was controversial, as civil servants are bound to maintain confidentiality in the job, but her new post as Starmer’s chief of staff is primarily one of diplomacy, organisation and planning how to use the levers of power when in government.
Deborah Mattinson: Titled as the director of strategy, Starmer’s polling expert joined after running a company called Britain Thinks, which specialised in focus groups. Mattinson is a senior figure in the leadership team and is focused on going after voters in the “red wall”, in particular those termed “hero voters”, who they hope will switch from backing the Tories in 2019 to Labour in 2024. After the last election, she wrote a book called Beyond the Red Wall, about the voters in these areas. Peter Hyman: A former headteacher and education expert, he previously worked in Downing Street as a speechwriter and policy aide for Tony Blair. Now an adviser to Starmer, he has big ideas on education and was also influential in forming the leadership’s “five missions”. His role roves across strategy and policy.
Matthew Doyle: Starmer’s executive director of communications was a special adviser in Blair’s Downing Street, and a political director of the former prime minister’s office after leaving No 10. He is charged with securing good coverage for the leader, navigating the party through attacks from the Tory media in the run-up to the election and ensuring equal treatment by broadcasters during the campaign. David Evans: Labour’s general secretary has been a major figure in the transformation of the party since the Jeremy Corbyn era. His job is to run the party HQ’s machinery, dealing with the backlog of antisemitism complaints and other suspension or expulsion cases, and tackling the party’s financial situation.
Matthew Pound: A senior adviser to the party, Pound is a close to McSweeney and helped bring about the leadership rule changes in 2021 seen as key to helping Starmer secure control over Labour. Matthew Faulding: Another important lieutenant close to McSweeney, and known with Pound as one of the “two Matts”, Faulding was instrumental in running the selection of candidates for Westminster. The result has been a list of Starmer allies – rather than leftwingers – standing for seats at the election. Stuart Ingham: The executive director of policy is a longstanding Starmer ally and has a low profile despite an important role. He is a former academic and policy researcher, who is the sole member of Starmer’s original office still in the team. Ravinder Athwal: A former academic and Treasury official, Athwal is charged with drawing together the manifesto from the policy formation process. Luke Sullivan: Sullivan is Starmer’s director of politics, which involves liaising with MPs. As a former adviser to the chief whip, he is well-known and connected within the parliamentary party. Waheed Alli: The media executive and Labour donor has played a pivotal role in drumming up donations for the election campaign, with a return of former contributors and a swath of new ones.
Paul Ovenden: Ovenden is a director of communications who focuses on attack and rebuttal, as well as helping to prepare the leader for prime minister’s questions.
Steph Driver: Driver is Starmer’s communications chief who travels with him and oversees his personal media. Sophie Nazemi: Labour’s head of media and a rare survivor from the Corbyn era, she is in charge of the party’s press office – a hugely important role in the run-up to an election. Jill Cuthbertson: Starmer’s head of private office is a crucial gatekeeper who manages his movements and organises his time. She ran Ed Miliband’s office when he was Labour leader. The key politicians Rachel Reeves: As shadow chancellor, Reeves has formed a powerful double act with Starmer as they work to regain trust, especially on the economy. She has impressed and won over business leaders and is the linchpin of maintaining discipline on public spending, reining in anyone who wants to announce expensive, uncosted policies. Angela Rayner: Rayner has proved a loyal deputy to Starmer after moments of tension earlier in their partnership. She is one of the few senior figures trusted by the unions and will be central to delivering changes to the workplace, as well as on her new policy brief of housing and levelling up.
Pat McFadden: The shadow Cabinet Office minister is one of Starmer’s most experienced team members, being a veteran of the Blair and Brown governments. He is running the election campaign and will be an important attack dog.
Peter Mandelson: As an elder statesman and sounding board, Lord Mandelson is a core part of Starmer’s network. One of the best known New Labour spin doctors and a former business secretary, the peer is co-founder and chair of the advisory outfit Global Counsel.