Morgan McSweeney

Morgan McSweeney
Downing Street Chief of Staff
Incumbent
Assumed office
6 October 2024
Prime MinisterKeir Starmer
Deputy
  • Vidhya Alakeso
  • Jill Cuthbertson
Preceded bySue Gray
Head of Political Strategy
10 Downing Street
In office
5 July 2024 – 6 October 2024
Serving with Paul Ovenden
Prime MinisterKeir Starmer
Preceded byOffice established
Director of Campaigns to the Leader of the Opposition
In office
September 2022 (2022-09) – 5 July 2024
LeaderKeir Starmer
Preceded byOffice established
Chief of Staff to the Leader of the Opposition
In office
4 April 2020 (2020-04-04) – 20 June 2021 (2021-06-20)
LeaderKeir Starmer
Succeeded bySam White
Personal details
Born1977 (age 46–47)
Macroom, County Cork, Ireland
Political partyLabour
SpouseImogen Walker
Children1
EducationMiddlesex University

Morgan McSweeney (born 1977) is an Irish political aide who has served as Downing Street Chief of Staff under Prime Minister Keir Starmer since October 2024.[1] He was previously the campaign manager for the Labour Party and director of the think tank Labour Together.[2]

McSweeney originally gained a reputation as a Labour organiser, including leading successful campaigns to win a majority on the Lambeth London Borough Council and to defeat the far-right British National Party in Barking and Dagenham. In 2017, he became Labour Together director during the Labour Party leadership of Jeremy Corbyn, where he worked to replace Corbyn and to reduce left-wing influence in the party. In 2020, he led Starmer's successful Labour leadership campaign and subsequently led Labour's successful campaign in the 2024 UK general election.

In June 2024, New Statesman ranked McSweeney first on a list of the most influential progressive figures in the UK,[3] having described him as Starmer's "most trusted aide".[4] In October 2023, The Times stated that "nobody without elected office wields as much power in British politics as McSweeney".[5]

  1. ^ Penna, Dominic (6 October 2024). "Sue Gray resigns as Starmer's chief of staff". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  2. ^ Cumming, Ed; Rayner, Gordon (6 July 2024). "The softly-spoken Irishman who turned Labour into a formidable machine". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  3. ^ "The Left Power List 2024". New Statesman. 4 June 2024. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  4. ^ "The New Statesman's left power list". New Statesman. 17 May 2023. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  5. ^ Maguire, Patrick (6 October 2023). "The real power behind Starmer — who would rather stay in the shadows". The Times. Retrieved 12 October 2024.