Sir Keir Starmer has been accused of “clutching at straws” following reports of Morgan McSweeney’s return to the Prime Minister’s inner circle.
Speaking to GB News, former Senior Correspondent at The Sunday Times Andrew Gilligan argued it is possible the ex-Downing Street Chief of Staff has been “on the phone pretty much ever since he left”.
A minister has claimed that Mr McSweeney has “never really gone away” from Sir Keir’s inner circle since stepping down from his role in No10.
The source told The i Paper: “He has been on the end of the phone 24/7.”
Reacting to the reports, Mr Gilligan told GB News: “I think he was maybe gone a couple of weeks, but I think he’s been on the phone pretty much ever since.
“The fact is that, as we all know, Keir Starmer doesn’t have much of an idea himself about how to how to run things, doesn’t have very many beliefs or views.”
He argued that the Prime Minister has “depended” on “strong figures” like Mr McSweeeney to “keep him afloat”.
He added: “Clearly, Starmer has felt the lack of that and has brought him back, but I don’t think you’ll see him walking down Downing Street.
Andrew Gilligan has reacted to reports that Morgan McSweeney has returned to Keir Starmer’s inner circle
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“I think he’ll be very much a voice on the phone, as I’ve heard it reported and I believe it to be the case.”
Questioned by host Dawn Neesom on whether the resignation of Mr McSweeney was “smoke and mirrors” to the British public, Mr Gilligan said the Prime Minister will “clutch at any straw he can”.
He told GB News: “I think Keir Starmer is almost certainly gone, whatever happens, and I think this is a last throw of the dice in an attempt to try and save his premiership.
“I don’t think it’s going to work. I think people have basically decided he’s out the door. And I think John Healey and Al Carns’s resignations the other day made that nailed in. But I suppose he’s got to clutch at any straw he can.”
Morgan McSweeney is said to be back advising Keir Starmer as the PM braces for a leadership contest
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Mr Gilligan added: “Morgan McSweeney was of course the man who won on his 170 seat majority, so that’s probably the thought going through Keir Starmer’s head. ‘What have I got to lose at this stage’ will probably be the other thought.”
Despairing at the state of British politics, Dawn told the former senior correspondent: “I genuinely can’t believe the politicians we have now and what they think we as voters and the people paying their wages are going to swallow?”
Mr Gilligan responded: “Well, one of the striking things is how much the current Government has repeated all the mistakes of all the previous Governments. They came to office saying they wouldn’t be sleazy, they wouldn’t take gifts, they’d be stable.
“And of course, they’re now going to repeat, I think probably the the fifth or sixth mistake, endlessly changing the leader, so it’s truly history repeating itself.
Mr Gilligan told GB News that ‘the current Government has repeated all the mistakes of all the previous Governments’
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“And the core problem here is that Labour, arguably a bit like the Tories towards the end, simply hasn’t got a clear idea of what it wanted to do in Government. So it just gets blown around and it ends up governing from day to day in the manner that we’ve seen at.”
Discussing the appointment of new Defence Secretary Dan Jarvis, Mr Gilligan stressed that he is facing “humiliation” ahead of the Nato summit next week.
He concluded: “I quite like Dan Jervis as a person, and I feel pretty sorry for him. As a Defence Secretary, can you imagine the horror of having to go to the Nato summit next week, when everybody knows your own predecessor has said your plans are hideously inadequate and your defence plan is a failure.
“And knowing as well that you’re probably just kind of like the deckchair attendant on the Titanic, that there will be a new Prime Minister and a new Defence Secretary, quite possibly along in a few weeks.”