Civil war breaks out in Labour as Keir Starmer’s own cabinet demands he ‘get a grip’ on the party | Politics | News

Cabinet ministers are convinced that Sir Keir Starmer must “get a grip” on the civil war within the Labour Party and put an end to the power struggles among party advisers.

The Prime Minister is facing calls to intervene in a dispute over Sue Gray’s £170,000 salary that has infuriated other advisers.

Sir Keir is being urged to “create a moment” to prevent power struggles between rival factions in Downing Street.

The minister said: “Keir needs to pull himself together. In opposition he never found a solution as to who is in charge and who has a voice.”

The disputes at the heart of Downing Street and the freebies scandal have shaken Sir Keir’s time in office and raised questions about the government’s readiness to form a government.

And Sir Keir is being urged to take a greater role in decisions, such as spending, rather than leaving them to Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves.

They added that hiring more staff at Downing Street could help ease tensions.

Another staff member said that not hiring enough advisers had left staff overworked ahead of the spending review that will set the government’s budget contours.

They reported that “we simply lack the firepower.”

Some ministers are “helpless” because they do not have enough staff, the Financial Times reported.

The revelations about Gray’s salary – which stem from indiscretions within Downing Street – have revealed the extent of the discontent among government advisers who feel “insulted” by the “insultingly low” salary offers.

“It’s getting worse. Now people are talking and comparing salaries,” said one employee.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting joked that Sir Keir’s controversial senior adviser Sue Gray had also “taken a shot at JFK” and was “hiding Lord Lucan” while a dispute over her salary continued.

The Health Minister ridiculed indications of growing bitterness within the government in a speech on the sidelines of the Labour Party conference in Liverpool.

Addressing a crowd at a gathering hosted by the Labour Together think tank, Streeting said: “I welcome the BBC’s belief that no one should be paid more than the Prime Minister, that no one should be treated with hospitality and that we should judge performance by mentions on social media.”

“Be careful what we wish for, comrades.”

He added: “It’s going to get worse before it gets better. Sue Gray hid Lord Lucan and shot JFK, and I can’t even tell you what she did to Shergar. Frankly, I don’t know how we’re going to recover from this.”

In recent weeks, Gray has been the subject of a series of anonymous briefings that suggested discontent within Downing Street just weeks after the new government took office.

Leaked information about her £170,000 salary contributed to reports of a tense atmosphere at 10 Downing Street less than three months after the Labour Party took power.