Sue Gray has decided not to take up the post of nation and regions envoy after it became clear Keir Starmer was planning to withdraw his offer, the Guardian understands.
Sources said the prime minister’s former chief of staff, who was on a “short break” between roles after standing down almost six weeks ago, had been told No 10 was likely to rescind the job offer before she had even taken it up.
Downing Street insiders had grown concerned about the media attention that would follow Gray, which could have made it harder for her to carry out the role. They were also unclear about what exactly the job would entail.
Sources told the Guardian that Starmer, who is in Baku at the Cop29 climate summit, was expected to give Gray a peerage. This would give her the freedom to promote issues that were important to her – including devolution – from the House of Lords.
One government source said Gray had been told Starmer planned to rescind his offer. “Sue wasn’t told for sure that the job was no longer on offer, but she was warned that was the direction of travel,” they said. “The way some people are behaving towards her is really horrible.”
Allies of the former senior civil servant had previously told the Guardian she had questions over how much power she would actually have as envoy, and whether she would have sufficient access to the prime minister. However, with speculation swirling over her position, her allies admitted that she had jumped before she was pushed after weeks of prevaricating over the role.
“Sue has taken a decision not to take the role,” one said. “She’s going to focus on other things. She’s taken time to think about it properly, talking to stakeholders, but ultimately she’s decided she doesn’t want to do it.”
Starmer’s spokesperson later confirmed that Gray was not taking up the job, presenting it as her choice. “While we would not usually comment on individual members of staff … I can confirm that she has now decided not to take up the role,” she said.
She indicated that no one else would be put into the job, saying: “I don’t have any immediate plans to update you on as to further recruitment, but to be very clear, resetting our relationships and working with the regions and nations has been at the heart of everything the government does.” Gray had been “uniquely placed for that role”, she added.
Gray had been a popular choice with regional and national leaders – particularly Labour ones – who credited her with bringing them “into the room” with Starmer, and making sure their views were taken into account.
However, anxiety that her departure could make it harder to engage with Downing Street appeared to have been unfounded. One regional politician said: “I was very concerned her absence would affect our access to No 10 – she really did make a difference – but that hasn’t happened.”
Another added: “We had a great relationship with Sue but are relaxed about this because we also have a very good relationship with Morgan and No 10 who seem as committed to mayors and regions as before.”
Gray resigned as Starmer’s chief of staff after finding herself at the centre of a political storm. Starmer shook up his entire top team after facing intense pressure to put an end to the hostile briefings that had at times overshadowed his first 100 days in office.
The senior official, who had spent decades as a civil servant and became a household name after Boris Johnson asked her to investigate the Partygate scandal, was replaced as chief of staff by Morgan McSweeney, who masterminded Labour’s general election victory, and with whom she sometimes found herself at odds in government.
Downing Street announced at the same time that Gray would take on a new government role as the prime minister’s envoy for the regions and nations. Yet she did not attend Starmer’s inaugural gathering of the council of nations and regions, which was intended to reset relationships and boost growth in every part of the UK.
After her appointment, Gray said she was standing down as chief of staff because it had “become clear to me that intense commentary around my position risked becoming a distraction to the government’s vital work of change”. It is unclear whether she was paid in the interim.
