Starmer's five missions at risk of becoming impossible

For a party which won a stonking majority of 174 only two months ago, Labour's annual conference starting tomorrow would normally be a celebration. Yet Keir Starmer can't allow more than a brief nod to his landslide victory, which already feels a long time ago.

- ANDREW GRICE

Instead, he must use the Liverpool gathering to get his government back on track. In theory, Labour should be able to set a positive media agenda at the conference but it now needs to move on from revelations about Starmer’s £107,000 of freebies since 2019 and infighting among Downing Street aides, both of which have distracted the government.

Sue Gray, his chief of staff, should have ensured she did not earn more than the prime minister. Her lack of a political radar, coupled with Starmer’s similar background as a public servant rather than party political animal, has created an absence of political judgement at No 10.

What matters much more than Gray’s £170,000 salary is the constant stream of leaks, briefings and counterbriefings. It’s not political but personal. I’ve witnessed plenty of Downing Street feuds but never so early in a government’s life – they normally erupt when a PM is on the way out, not on the way in.

Some advisers think Gray’s position is “unsustainable”, with one telling me: “You have no idea how bad things are inside No 10.” Others defend Gray and think things can only get better when Simon Case, the cabinet secretary, departs in the new year on medical grounds.