Keir Starmer is facing growing pressure from MPs and ministers to dismiss Morgan McSweeney after claims of a No.10 briefing campaign against Wes Streeting.
According to reports, Starmer informed MPs that he would not fire his chief of staff and would not comply with multiple requests to guarantee that the briefers would face "consequences."
Startled Labour MPs and ministers have blamed Starmer's top staffer for the consequences from what appears to have been a well-planned scheme to send a warning shot at potential candidates for the leadership, including Streeting.
However, the controversy seems to give the health secretary more confidence; at least one union that supports Labour is inclined to support him in the event of a vacancy, and MPs have praised a strong media performance.
Additionally, Starmer has made efforts to improve relations with Streeting in private; one source referred to these efforts as "peace talks."
Downing Street was compelled to explain its stance when Starmer seemed to sidestep a prime minister's inquiry about whether he had complete faith in his chief of staff. He had responded,
"Morgan McSweeney, my team, and I are absolutely focused on delivering for this country."
However, he refused to fire the briefers despite direct pressure from Labour MPs before the party's backbench committee on Wednesday afternoon. The prime minister had "lost the dressing room," according to one MP in attendance.
On Wednesday night, Labour chair Anna Turley told ITV that Starmer would "take action" against the person who had briefed against Streeting and that an investigation would be conducted.
According to one strategist, the purpose of the briefings was to emphasize that Starmer would fight hard for his position and to warn Labour MPs about the possibly catastrophic repercussions of any leadership battle, rather than to throw down a line against Streeting specifically.
Streeting mounted a furious defence of his actions on morning shows on Wednesday, saying:
“Whoever has been briefing this has been watching too much Celebrity Traitors. It’s the most unjustified attack against the faithfuls since Joe Marler was banished in the final.”
The timing of Downing Street's extraordinary intervention, which the Guardian published on Tuesday night, left Labour MPs perplexed, and attention shifted to whether McSweeney could continue in his position.
Many told the Guardian that any upcoming leadership race would be bolstered by the attacks against Streeting and the health secretary's defiant appearance on breakfast TV.
Government insiders said there was now pressure on the prime minister over McSweeney from “many different quarters”. One source said:
“Because Keir is so dependent on him for political advice, the guns are trained on him.”
According to two No. 10 insiders, McSweeney's relationship with the prime minister's chief secretary, Darren Jones, has also worsened. Jones is reportedly irritated by the government's constant focus on scandals or briefings and counter-briefings.
Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, is now seen by MPs as McSweeney's chosen replacement for Starmer. The two collaborated closely during Mahmood's tenure as Labour Headquarters' elections coordinator.
According to a person close to Mahmood, it was "nonsense" that she was in charge of any kind of leadership operation and that she was concentrating on significant asylum reforms that would soon be made public.
What evidence links Morgan McSweeney to the No.10 briefing against Wes Streeting?
The substantiation linking Morgan McSweeney to the No. 10 briefing against Wes Streeting primarily comes from political sources and critics within Tory leadership. Kemi Badenoch, the Tory leader, intimately criticized Morgan McSweeney, who's Sir Keir Starmer's chief of staff, for orchestrating the briefings that attacked Wes Streeting as a implicit leadership rival.
While specifics about McSweeney's direct involvement in the briefings are n't completely bared intimately, these allegations come amid broader allegations that McSweeney is involved in managing internal controversies and factional tactics within Labour.
Starmer has denied authorizing any attack on Streeting from No. 10, pressing that there's no functionary sanctioning from the Labour leader, but the pressure on McSweeney grows due to these claims and his perceived part behind the scenes.