SIR Keir Starmer today launched a major shake-up of his top team after a chaotic summer saw Labour plummet in the polls.
The latest Downing Street reset came as the PM’s senior aide James Lyons dramatically walked out of Downing Street.
AFPSir Keir Starmer has kicked off a reshuffle of his top team amid public fury over Labour’s handling of immigration and the economy[/caption]
AlamyDarren Jones has been appointed as Chief Secretary to the PM, a new role focused on delivering Labour’s policies[/caption]
AlamyJames Murray will take over Darren Jones’ former job as number two to Rachel Reeves in the Treasury[/caption]
In a desperate bid to revive his authority, Sir Keir appointed Darren Jones to be the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister – a newly created position.
Mr Jones was previously number two to Rachel Reeves in the Treasury but will now oversee work across government.
Treasury minister James Murray will replace him as Treasury Chief Secretary while rising star Chipping Barnet MP Dan Tomlinson has taken on the Treasury Exchequer Secretary role.
The PM returned from his summer break to make a series of changes as his top team struggles to grapple with immigration and a sluggish economy.
Downing Street is also struggling to stem the surging popularity of Nigel Farage, who used the stole the spotlight in August with plans for mass deportations of illegal migrants.
Sir Keir presses the panic button
By JACK ELSOM, Political Editor
THERE are three main tactics that unpopular governments deploy to revive themselves: a Budget, a reshuffle, or an overhaul of No10 staff.
That Sir Keir Starmer has today pressed two of these panic buttons speaks to just how dire his situation now is.
Political obsessives will pore over the ministerial and backroom changes, and rightly read the runes that Downing Street is not a happy place.
The comms team is taking flak for failing to grip the agenda, while they in turn blame the policy department for giving them sod all to sell to voters.
James Lyons’ departure as the PM’s media chief comes hot on the heels of his predecessor Matthew Doyle.
Losing one comms supremo may be a misfortune, losing two looks like carelessness.
And all just 14 months after sweeping to power in a landslide.
Has an administration ever unravelled quite so quickly in modern times, barring the fleeting aberration of Liz Truss?
The remaining No10 spinners – led by the fiercely loyal Steph Driver – are busy selling this overhaul as the necessary tweaks to create a well-oiled machine.
But it smacks of a desperate government thrashing around trying anything to turn things around.
Adrift in the polls – and Starmer’s own popularity tanking – it is another throw of the dice.
But many disenchanted voters watching today’s charade will rightly see the path to winning back their trust with proper policies, not process or personalities.
Tough action on illegal migration, the economy and crime will help Starmer get out of this rut more than any deckchair rearranging.
Ahead of the Autumn Budget, with a date expected to be announced this week, Sir Keir has also recruited Baroness Minouche Shafik as his chief economist.
Ms Shafik is a former president of Columbia University in New York.
She was booted out of the top US job after failing to tackle antisemitism on campus.
The PM’s reset was immediately plunged into chaos this morning, as Mr Lyons, a top strategic communications director, walked out of No10.
His exit marks the second such departure after former top spin chief Matthew Doyle left in March.
Tim Allan, who was a former adviser to Tony Blair from 1992 to 1998, will be the government’s new Executive Director of Communications based in Downing Street.
PAThe reshuffle comes ahead of Rachel Reeves’ Autumn Budget, where Brits are expected to clobbered by MORE tax rises[/caption]
GettyThe PM is also under threat from Nigel Farage, whose popularity is soaring in the polls[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
