Morgan McSweeney has resigned as Downing Street chief of staff, taking “full responsibility” for his advice to Keir Starmer to appoint Peter Mandelson as the British Ambassador to the US. This is his resignation statement in full:
“After careful reflection, I have decided to resign from the government.
“The decision to appoint Peter Mandelson was wrong. He has damaged our party, our country and trust in politics itself.
“When asked, I advised the Prime Minister to make that appointment and I take full responsibility for that advice. In public life responsibility must be owned when it matters most, not just when it is most convenient. In the circumstances, the only honourable course is to step aside.
“This has not been an easy decision. Much has been written and said about me over the years but my motivations have always been simple: I have worked every day to elect and support a government that puts the lives of ordinary people first and leads us to a better future for our great country. Only a Labour government will do that. I leave with pride in all we have achieved mixed with regret at the circumstances of my departure. But I have always believed there are moments when you must accept your responsibility and step aside for the bigger cause.
“As I leave I have two further reflections:
“Firstly, and most importantly, we must remember the women and girls whose lives were ruined by Jeffrey Epstein and whose voices went unheard for far too long.
“Secondly, while I did not oversee the due diligence and vetting process, I believe that process must now be fundamentally overhauled. This cannot simply be a gesture but a safeguard for the future.
“I remain fully supportive of the Prime Minister. He is working every day to rebuild trust, restore standards and serve the country. I will continue to back that mission in whatever way I can. It has been the honour of my life to serve.”
As he himself writes, “much has been said and written” about McSweeney over the years, but this – his resignation statement – is probably the first time you have ever heard from him in his own words. Someone close to him remarked to me in recent months that the part of the job that McSweeney has found the most challenging has been the constant writing about him, including by people like me, without being able to have a public voice himself.
He has been lionised, mythologised and, in some parts of the Labour party, nothing short of loathed. He has been a lightning rod for so much of what the party’s MPs and grassroots have resented about this Labour leadership – a sense of a boys’ club mentality, a factionalism, a disrespect for elected politicians. Certainly, he has been the person at the top of the party urging it to get out of its comfort zone, saying that is the only way it can stay in touch with the concerns of ordinary people.
To his many admirers, including the prime minister, he is the brilliant strategist who turned Labour into a party that could win again, who helped Starmer root antisemitism out of the party, and who masterminded the party’s landslide election victory only 19 months ago. But it is the close mentorship of the person who often guided him through those months – Mandelson – that has been his undoing. As McSweeney fully owns, it was his advice to appoint Mandelson, and that advice has proven to be a disaster.
Keir Starmer said: “It’s been an honour working with Morgan McSweeney for many years. He turned our party around after one of its worst ever defeats and played a central role running our election campaign. It is largely thanks to his dedication, loyalty and leadership that we won a landslide majority and have the chance to change the country.
“Having worked closely with Morgan in opposition and in government, I have seen every day his commitment to the Labour Party and to our country. Our party and I owe him a debt of gratitude, and I thank him for his service.”
Ever since the disastrous welfare rebellion last May, McSweeney’s position has been in question. There have been reports he wavered about resigning after that vote, and the nearly moved over to Labour HQ during the summer. Yet in the speculation, opinion within Labour has been divided between those who think ditching McSweeney and conducting a reset could save Starmer, and those who believe it will be his undoing. We are about to see who is right.
In the meantime, British politics sees the departure of someone, love him or loathe him, who has been the most consequential figure in Labour politics of recent years – arguably even more consequential than Starmer himself.
[Further reading: What is Angela Rayner up to?]
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