The proposed appointment of Sue Gray by Keir Starmer, to his chief of staff, is a smart move for three reasons. First, the preparations for government by Labour need to start now. An election may still be over a year away, but there is an enormous amount of work to be done if the party is to hit the ground running. Well before the election comes, Labour will need to have a very clear idea of what it wants to do and how it wants to do it. This is a vital appointment that can’t wait. Having someone who really knows how government works from the inside will be enormously valuable.
Second, the chief of staff job requires someone with both great political understanding and strong organisational capability. It is not a surprise, therefore, that two previous holders of the role – Jonathan Powell for Tony Blair and Ed Llewellyn for David Cameron – were former diplomats in the civil service. If you are going to go for an experienced senior civil servant, it is hard to think of anyone better placed to do this than Gray.
