LABOUR'S Chief of Staff, Sue Gray, has been removed from her post after a disastrous first three months in power for Keir Starmer - during which he and his government have been accused of accepting cash and donations in return for access.
Labour promised change but has delivered scabrous policies castigating the poor and the elderly, the retention of Conservative fiscal rules, the refusal to abolish the cruel and poverty-creating two-child cap on benefits, the axing of the universal entitlement to the winter fuel allowance for pensioners, all topped off with an industrial dose of selfish entitlement from Starmer himself.
The Prime Minister thinks it's a "step too far" to expect him to stop accepting thousands of pounds worth of hospitality to see football matches. All this while he has forced pensioners to give up on a ticket to see their favourite team play because they need the money to pay the gas bill.
It is clearly Gray who is being blamed for all this mess, and not the lies, sleaze, and hypocrisy of Starmer himself.
READ MORE: SNP MP accuses Labour of 'colonial mindset' over Sue Gray envoy role
Amidst reports of infighting and blame throwing amongst staff at Number 10, Gray was forced out of her job over the weekend and sidelined into a brand new position, blatantly created purely in an effort to save some face. The move comes after weeks of briefing against Gray originating from others within Starmer's staff.
She is to be replaced as chief of staff by Morgan McSweeney, Starmer's former Head of Political Strategy and prior to that Director of the right-wing Labour pressure group Labour Together, once dismissed by Anas Sarwar as a "fringe group". That "fringe group" has far more influence on determining Labour government policy than you do Anas, although to be fair, so does the guy who delivers the pizzas to Number 10.
Gray is now to be Starmer's "envoy to the Nations and Regions" the head of the British Government's Undiplomatic Service in which it will fall to her to give the Scottish Government 90 minutes notice that it's going to lose £160 million in Barnett Consequentials because Rachel Reeves has decided to punish the vulnerable so she can pander to the wealthy whose taxes she refuses to raise. It was either that or putting Gray in charge of the Soylent Green department, so they have a plan to deal with all the pensioners who die during the winter after their fuel allowance is cut.
The new post has been widely criticised across the political spectrum. Envoys are more typically associated with troubleshooting in regions and international relations which are seen to be troubled or problematic, such as when Tony Blair was appointed as an envoy to the Middle East by a government with no concept of the word irony.
Chris Law, the SNP MP for Dundee Central and the party’s international trade spokesperson at Westminster, quoted the title of Gray's role and added: "If there ever was a colonial mindset then this is it!"
Angus Robertson, the Scottish Government's Constitutional Affairs spokesman noted on Twitter: "‘Nations and Regions’ is now a place that people are sent when they are sacked by 10 Downing Street under Labour. Can you hear the pennies dropping in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland?"
Mabon Ap Gwynfor, a Plaid Cymru Member of the Welsh Senedd, noted: "Envoys were made redundant in the middle of the last century because they were essentially second tier ambassadors to what were deemed inferior countries."
Scottish Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop added: “Nothing smacks of a confession from the UK Labour Government and Keir Starmer that they don’t understand Scotland than the need to have anyone from the UK Labour Government in the position of ‘envoy’ to the nations and regions.”
Scotland already has a Scotland Office and a Scottish Secretary who are theoretically supposed to represent Scotland in Westminster, although in recent years they have acted more as representatives of Westminster in Scotland - you might say envoys from Westminster.
The question is then, was Ian Murray consulted about the creation of this new post which encroaches on his responsibilities and is effectively a demotion for him? Or was he given as much advance notice as the Treasury gave the Scottish Government when it axed the universal winter fuel allowance for pensioners? Why is this new post needed?
I thought Scotland was already the beating heart of this new Labour government. I'm sure BBC Scotland will doorstep Sarwar and Murray first thing on Monday morning to ask them all about the blatant mismatch between what they promised during the recent election campaign and what they are delivering now that they are in power.
The Scottish Government really ought to appoint an envoy to Westminster just to see if Starmer thinks it's weird when we do it. It would be worth it just to see Russell Findlay and Sarwar have a meltdown at FMQs.
There are signs of a possible breakthrough in negotiations to ensure that the Scottish Government secures enough votes in Holyrood in December to pass its budget. Failure to pass the budget could result in early Holyrood elections. However, now the Scottish Greens have said that they are prepared to back the Scottish Budget if the SNP Government is prepared “to stretch devolution” – with the party hinting at further use of devolved tax powers.
The Scottish Government has governed as a minority since the collapse of the Bute House Agreement last year.
Green MSP Ross Greer said: “Scotland’s public finances are in a dire state, largely due to years of cuts from Westminster. The Scottish Government isn’t powerless though. Even with the limited powers of devolution we must do everything we can to protect people and planet.”
He added: “We are ready to co-operate again, if the SNP will join us in taking the bold decisions needed to tackle child poverty and the climate crisis."
This piece is an extract from today’s REAL Scottish Politics newsletter, which is emailed out at 7pm every weekday with a round-up of the day's top stories and exclusive analysis from the Wee Ginger Dug.
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