Nick Thomas-Symonds

He may be quiet, but this Keir whisperer is key to Labour's European ambitions.

- By Catherine Neilan

When Labour assumed power last summer, it took three days before Nick Thomas-Symonds received the call. It wasn't the cabinet job he'd been hoping for, but rather paymaster general, an unwieldy role that can encompass an extraordinary range of duties, from compensation for the contaminated blood scandal to Lords reform to the highly sensitive negotiations with the EU.

It was a demotion for the MP for Torfaen, initially Keir Starmer's shadow home secretary and a regular on the broadcast round, particularly at the height of the pandemic. "He was very upset that he didn't get a full job in the Cabinet," says one ally. "He's very loyal to his friends - and Nick is one of Keir's friends - but politics is a shitty game. He was kept waiting hours for the call after the Thursday election, and it didn't come until the Monday."

He may be lacking a cabinet seat but Thomas-Symonds bagged an office on Downing Street, raising eyebrows given his relatively junior role.

"The prime minister decided he wanted Nick to be close to him and report directly to him - he trusts his views and they're very close friends," says a Whitehall source.

The pair forged their political careers together. They both entered parliament at the 2015 election and stayed close throughout the Corbyn years before Thomas-Symonds backed Starmer for leader in 2020.

Thomas-Symonds's job title may underplay the importance of the man to Starmer's ambitions for the Labour government, which are coming into focus in the days before a crucial UK-EU summit. He has spent months in capitals across the continent speaking to his counterparts, most notably Maroš Šefčovič, the European commissioner for trade, who visited London in advance of the forthcoming summit.