Things are looking ominous for Starmer's £170k adviser

Sue Gray, the prime minister's chief of staff, is facing a sullen revolt from the political advisers she is supposed to lead.

- JOHN RENTOUL

The leaking of her salary - £3,000 more than Keir Starmer's - matters not just because of the sums of money involved, but because of the resentments it reveals.

One of the aggrieved advisers quoted by the BBC in its report of Gray’s pay said: “If you ever see any evidence of our preparations for government, please let me know.” Given that Gray was hired by Starmer to prepare for government, deploying her experience as a senior civil servant, this was wounding.

The immediate cause of the unhappiness of Labour apparatchiks is that she is taking a £170,000 salary, which is more than the £167,000 that the prime minister is paid, while she is being blamed for squeezing the pay of the poor, bloody infantry.

It is claimed on her behalf that “Sue Gray had no involvement in any decision on her pay” – but she could have refused to take the full amount suggested, knowing how it would look to the outside world if she were paid more than the prime minister. One party insider joked that it made her the only pensioner better off under Labour.