Morgan McSweeney, the prime minister’s former chief of staff, has admitted that Labour was not sufficiently prepared to govern when Keir Starmer was elected in 2024. In a candid interview on the BBC podcast Political Thinking with Nick Robinson, McSweeney acknowledged that the party lacked a clear strategy for delivering rapid change in a volatile global environment.
Lack of Preparation for a New Era
McSweeney, credited with orchestrating Labour’s landslide victory, said the party failed to anticipate the challenges of governing in a vastly different era compared to its previous tenure. “We didn’t prepare enough for what kind of world we were going to be in,” he stated. “We are now in a very different era than when Labour was last in government, and I think we didn’t have enough conversations at the top of the party about what that meant, how to prepare for it, what that meant for the state, how the state needed to be reformed.” He emphasised that the state is “really out of shape and is unable to deliver for people.”
Need for Faster Delivery
McSweeney argued that Labour should have entered government with a clearer theory on how to deliver change quickly, given the public’s impatience with broken political promises. “You have to deliver quite quickly for people for them to see the change quickly, and I think we didn’t come in with enough of a theory about how we would do that, and why that was important,” he said. He noted that the party’s initial tone was too negative and should have been “way more optimistic when we started.”
Personal Reflections and Future Plans
McSweeney, who quit in February due to his involvement in appointing Peter Mandelson as US ambassador, said he wanted to speak publicly for the first time to “close the old chapter” and move on. He plans to leave politics for at least the next few years, pursuing a “completely different direction” professionally. “I loved working for the Labour party and for a Labour government. It was an incredible privilege. But I became more and more visible the longer I stayed in the job, and I thought I needed to become a bit more public to let people know who I am, and to close a chapter on the past,” he explained.
Shared Responsibility for Mistakes
Asked whether his predecessor, Sue Gray, was to blame for the lack of preparation, McSweeney rejected singling out individuals. “When I say we weren’t prepared, I really do mean the Labour party more generally,” he said. “I take my own responsibilities for that, rather than blaming one person.” He identified key mistakes that contributed to Labour’s rapid unpopularity, including a negative initial tone and insufficient focus on reform.
Anecdotes from No 10
McSweeney shared light-hearted moments from his time in office, including a call with US President Donald Trump. Trump complained about wind turbines killing birds, leading to foxes becoming obese from eating the fallen birds. “He went on to say that as the foxes ate so many birds and became lazy, they became fat, and as they became so fat, people no longer knew what kind of a creature they were,” McSweeney recalled. When asked if Trump was being funny, McSweeney replied: “Definitely.”
Support for No 10 North
McSweeney expressed optimism about Andy Burnham’s premiership and plans for a “No 10 North” base outside London. “If at the top of government there are people who don’t just have a desk somewhere outside London, but actually live their whole lives outside of London, I think that will be a good thing,” he said. He urged Burnham to “just push it through, the logistics can be sorted out.”
