Keir Starmer’s chief of staff earnings revealed (Image: Getty)
Sir Keir Starmer’s chief of staff is the highest paid Government special adviser, new figures have indicated. Morgan McSweeney is paid between £155,000 and £159,999, according to data released by the Cabinet Office on Thursday.
Mr McSweeney, who played a key role in Labour’s general election campaign, replaced Sue Gray who quit her role the Prime Minister’s chief of staff in October last year.
She had been caught up in rows over pay when it was revealed her salary was higher than Sir Keir’s.
The figures released on Thursday showed a raft of other senior Number 10 advisers, also known as spads, occupy the next highest pay rung on salaries between £145,000 and £149,999, as well as the Chancellor’s top economic adviser.
National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell is also within the same pay bracket.
Veteran diplomat Mr Powell was appointed as a special adviser in a political capacity last year, a break from the norm which saw previous post-holders taken on as civil servants.
Overall the pay bill for spads in the 2024/25 was £16.7 million, but this included £3.1 million in severance costs, which would have covered outgoing advisers from the previous Conservative government
The salary bill was £9.5 million, lower than the £10 million spent in the previous year, while national insurance contributions have increased from £1.3 million to £1.6 million over the same period.
According to the Government’s release, as of March 31 there were 130 special advisers across the Government.
Salaries over £76,000 are declared in bands of £5,000.
Mr McSweeney was the only person in the £155,000 to £159,999 band.
He made the news earlier this month when reports suggested that rebel MPs blamed Sir Keir’s chief of staff for the Government’s approach to hanling of Labour MPs during the welfare vote which triggered a rebellion.
Nigel Farage erupts at Keir Starmer over controversial Germany deal
Nigel Farage has taken aim at Sir Keir Starmer’s new deal with Germany as part of the UK’s “EU reset”.
The Reform UK leader referenced research which suggested Britain now aligned with Brussels in 21 areas, compared to four at the beginning of the year.
The Brexit architect also told viewers of his GB News show that the UK would would again start paying contributions to the EU.
A review of the current state of regulatory divergence, by the think tank UK in a Changing Europe, found that the first six months of the year had been the most significant period for post-Brexit changes for several years.
Nigel Farage on GB News (Image: GB News)
Labour has pledged to seek a closer relationship with the EU, aligning with Brussels on some major regulatory issues to smooth the flow of trade.
Mr Farage asked viewers whether this was an “all-out Brexit betrayal?”.
Before that, he mocked Sir Keir’s new deal with Germany which the Prime Minister claimed would help tackle illegal migration by stopping people from storing their boats in Germany.
Mr Farage mockingly said: “I’m sure that’s going to make the most enormous difference to what’s going on in the English Channel.”
Sir Keir praised earlier German plans to “strengthen” laws to disrupt small boat crossings to the UK by the end of this year.
Speaking alongside German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Thursday, the Prime Minister said that the proposals that will mean small boats can be seized are a “clear sign that we mean business”.
Berlin agreed last year to make facilitating the smuggling of migrants to the UK a criminal offence in a move that will give law enforcement more powers to investigate the supply and storage of small boats to be used for Channel crossings.
In a meeting in Downing Street today, Sir Keir thanked Mr Merz for his commitment to introduce legislation “by the end of the year” that would outlaw facilitating illegal migration to the UK, Number 10 said.
