18 September 2024 , 20:19
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The revelation that Keir Starmer’s chief of staff, Sue Gray, is paid more than the Prime Minister has fueled anger over salary cuts, according to sources.
Sue Gray has been given a salary of £170,000 as Keir Starmer’s chief of staff – more than the prime minister – prompting fury among Labour colleagues who have taken lower pay since entering government.
Gray was given a pay rise after the election despite other political special advisers being unhappy that their salary was reduced compared with their previous jobs at the Labour party.
The BBC first reported that Gray was paid £3,000 more than Starmer’s salary of £166,786.
One source told the broadcaster: “It was suggested that she might want to go for a few thousand pounds less than the prime minister to avoid this very story. She declined.”
Government sources, however, disputed that claim. One said: “This allegation is categorically untrue. Sue Gray had no involvement in any decision on her pay. She was informed of her salary after this had been set.”
The revelation triggered a backlash among Labour advisers, many of whom also blame Gray for restrictions on pay and conditions for special advisers. Some have unionised in response to the terms, which include enforcing three-month probation periods.
After the disclosure of Gray’s pay, one Labour source said it was “hard to put in words how much anger this has created”, saying the story had prompted gasps in a room of their colleagues.
Another said Gray had “micromanaged every appointment” of special advisers and many blamed her for their lower pay compared with Conservative-era aides.
Earlier this month, it emerged special advisers were unionising over concerns about their pay and terms, with briefings that a number of aides believed Gray was “denting morale” among their peers because of the difference in pay between the two governments.
Conservatives immediately seized on the news, with Tory leadership contender Robert Jenrick saying on X: “£20,000 a year pay rise for Sue Gray. £600 cuts for some pensioners on as little as £13,000 a year. Starmer’s hypocrisy reeks.”
Gray’s salary is higher than any previous special adviser, according to published data relating to former administrations. Her predecessor in the chief of staff job for Rishi Sunak, Liam Booth-Smith, was paid £140,000-145,000 a year.
Gray took a job with Starmer after working in the civil service at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, where her salary band was £150,000-£155,000. The prime minister signed off a rebanding of the salaries for special advisers shortly after taking office.
No 10 is now likely to face questions over who exactly approved an increase in the “banding” for pay for the most senior special advisers. The BBC reported that a Whitehall committee of civil servants responsible for special adviser pay and terms had also been attended by Gray, and No 10’s director of political strategy, Morgan McSweeney. Government sources said she had been present only in an advisory role at the meetings.
The government had no comment on individual pay, but a Cabinet Office spokesperson said: “It is false to suggest that political appointees have made any decisions on their own pay bands or determining their own pay.
“Any decision on special adviser pay is made by officials, not political appointees. As set out publicly, special advisers cannot authorise expenditure of public funds or have responsibility for budgets.”
Downing Street denied this week that there was a “nest of vipers” within No 10 after tensions between supporters of Gray and allies of McSweeney. Some senior Labour sources are frustrated with Gray for what they see as her blocking access to the prime minister and slowing down decision-making by making sure everything goes through her.
Over the weekend, Starmer downplayed the reports about Gray, saying: “I’m not going to talk behind her back and I’m not going to talk about individual members of staff, whether it’s Sue Gray or any other member of staff.”
“All I can say about the stories is most of them are wildly wrong.”
A Downing Street spokesperson said Starmer was satisfied that the cabinet secretary, Simon Case, was not behind the leaks.