With Sue Gray gone, McSweeney will have no excuses if he fails to bring stability to Whitehall. The Budget later this month will be a key test. But already McSweeney is reportedly plotting a Cabinet shakeup.

Sue Gray has resigned as Sir Keir Starmer’s chief of staff, saying that “intense commentary” around her position had become a “distraction”. The special adviser became a household name in 2022 when she headed a report into the Partygate scandal, criticising Boris Johnson and the Conservative government of the time.