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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Pippa Crerar Political editor

Starmer aide Morgan McSweeney under fire after Labour welfare rebellion

Morgan McSweeney in Downing Street
Few doubt Morgan McSweeney’s golden electoral touch but some question if he is the right fit for chief of staff. Photograph: Tayfun Salcı/Zuma Press/Rex/Shutterstock

Being the prime minister’s right-hand man is a position of extraordinary power and privilege. But when things start to go wrong, you are directly in the line of fire. So has found Morgan McSweeney, the political mastermind credited with helping Keir Starmer win his election landslide, in recent days as the Labour party has collapsed into moral fury over planned welfare cuts.

The softly spoken Irishman, now Starmer’s chief of staff, has become the lightning rod for the frustration of many Labour rebels who backed a wrecking amendment designed to blow up the big welfare bill next week.

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