Londoner's Diary
Sir Keir Starmer’s chief of staff Sue Gray, of partygate report fame, is busy at work getting Labour election-ready. From her perch in party HQ, Gray has reportedly ordered the creation of a new implementation unit to sift through the party’s policy pledges looking for trip wires and trap doors.
In the perennial Westminster debate about whether the next election could look like 1997 (Labour landslide) or 1992 (shock Tory win), cautious Gray seems to come down on the latter side. In 1992, Labour’s confident campaign was partly scuppered by the Conservatives' relentless focus on the so-called “tax bombshell” baked into the manifesto. John Major went on to defy pollsters and win a small majority for the Tories.
Like Starmer, Gray is fond of reminding colleagues that “complacency” is the enemy, and this latest move, reported by Politico, is part of that push for vigilance and wariness.
It suggests too that the Labour leadership has a pretty crystal clear idea of what the manifesto will look like. Both parties feel a Spring election is now plausible and are acting accordingly, what with Jeremy Hunt’s headline-grabbing autumn statement and Starmer’s hard-nosed getting rid of shadow minister who go off message (Jess Phillips and eight others left his top team over the Gaza issue).
Gray served as second permanent secretary in the Cabinet Office and was tasked with investigating and reporting on the Downing Street parties that took place during lockdown. In a shock move, she defected to Labour in March, barely a year after publishing her damning report.
As well as bombproofing Labour policies, Gray has also focussed on sorting out bad behaviour that damages morale and could lead to negative headlines. Shortly after arriving as chief of staff, she told her underlings at party HQ to treat the cleaners better.
Her son, Liam Conlon, was selected as Labour’s parliamentary candidate in Beckenham and Penge this week.
Amex celebration
Last night The Dome in Tufnell Park saw the culmination of the Amex Gold Unsigned initiative, launched by American Express to support the grassroots music industry and help unsigned artists get their music heard. The Streets’ Mike Skinner DJed at the event where he was reunited with his former collaborator of over 15 years, Top Boy actor and musician Kano. Other guests included the models Daisy Lowe and Jack Guinness, DJ Vick Hope shortlisted performer Kianja, who performed live and posed up with Skinner.
Skinner has been a long-time supporter of emerging talent. He championed Kano, Professor Green and Coldplay's Chris Martin when they were relatively young.
