‘Boys’ club’ Starmer must dispel the myth he doesn’t value his senior women

Of all the criticisms levelled at Keir Starmer's No 10 during the past few months, the one that seems to have stung internally the most is that he presides over a “boys' club”.

- Rowena Mason Whitehall editor

A claim that “the lads” are in charge was made by the departing Labour MP Rosie Duffield, who had not seen eye to eye with her own party for a long time, referring to male political advisers who she believed had been throwing their weight around.

The accusation was easy to dismiss when Sue Gray, Starmer's chief of staff, was the most powerful political operator in No 10 - at the prime minister's side during his dinner with Donald Trump, and his meeting with Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels.

But the following week, Starmer moved to demote Gray, just a year after hiring her. In her place, he brought in Morgan McSweeney, the former chief of staff and election strategist who helped bring him to power, as well as hiring a new head of strategic communications, James Lyons, a former journalist and NHS media chief.