McSweeney praised for leading Labour’s fight against antisemitism after resignation as chief of staff

Morgan McSweeney’s pivotal role in tackling antisemitism within the Labour Party has been widely recognised by communal figures and parliamentarians in the aftermath of his resignation as the Prime Minister’s chief of staff.

Leading communal philanthropist Sir Trevor Chinn told Jewish News “Morgan was a great supporter of the Jewish community” as he reflected on the senior Labour aide’s achievements in the role.

The Irishman, who as a teenager went to live on a kibbutz,  announced he would step away from his role as Keir Starmer’s chief aide on Sunday, taking “full responsibility” for advising the Prime Minister to appoint Lord Mandelson to the role from which he was sacked last year.

Mandelson—who resigned from the House of Lords last week—is under police investigation over allegations he sent government information to paedophile financier and friend Jeffrey Epstein at the height of the financial crash.

In his statement, McSweeney said: “After careful reflection, I have decided to resign from the Government. The decision to appoint Peter Mandelson was wrong. He has damaged our party, our country and trust in politics itself.

“When asked, I advised the Prime Minister to make that appointment, and I take full responsibility for that advice. In public life, responsibility must be owned when it matters most, not just when it is most convenient. In the circumstances, the only honourable course is to step aside.”

His decision heaped further pressure on Starmer as critics on the left of the party lined up to question whether he could continue as PM.

But many communal figures also said it was right to recognise McSweeney’s ruthless purge of antisemitism from Labour as he successfully led Starmer to become leader of the party following the dark times under Jeremy Corbyn.

Adam Langleben, executive director of the Progressive Britain/Progress organisation, said McSweeney had literally been responsible for “exorcising” Labour of antisemitism.

“No one did more to drag the Labour Party out of the darkest moment in its history than Morgan McSweeney,” he told Jewish News. “The Jewish community owes him a debt of gratitude.”

Labour Friends of Israel director Michael Rubin also told Jewish News:
“Morgan was essential in dragging Labour back to sanity after the dark Corbyn years. He instinctively understood that antisemitism in the party wasn’t just an electoral disaster but a moral one too.

“I know many in the Jewish community will want to join me in thanking him for the unflinching allyship and support he has always shown us.”

Labour MP Luke Akehurst added: “Morgan played a central role in ensuring Labour fully implemented the EHRC recommendations on tackling antisemitism, marginalising the Corbynites and making Labour a party Jewish people could feel comfortable joining or voting for.

“Whatever else changes in the party, the zero tolerance approach to antisemitism is now baked into our disciplinary processes and endorsed by everyone who is ever mooted as a successor to Keir Starmer.”

In a post on X, Barnet Labour councillor Ella Rose-Jacobs and Jewish Labour Movement national chair said: “A lot will be written and said about the role of Morgan McSweeney.

“What cannot be forgotten is his leadership and drive in eradicating antisemitism from the Labour Party. We would not have been fit for government without him. Thank you, Morgan.”

McSweeney had been the mastermind behind organisations like Labour Together, formed in 2015, with the explicit intent of building a political narrative to “challenge fake news and political extremism.”

Working alongside the Jewish Labour Movement and other communal bodies, McSweeney was at the centre of the increasingly bitter fight against the rise of Corbynism, with its tolerance of antisemitism.

Funding for Labour Together had come from communal sources, including Sir  Trevor  who “had great concerns about the election of an outspoken opponent of the Jewish state as Labour leader.”

Widely regarded as a brilliant political strategist, McSweeney also led the campaign to install Starmer as Corbyn’s successor by firstly presenting him as a unity candidate appealing to all wings of Labour.

Once made leader, Starmer put the fight to root out antisemitism at the top of his stated aims, following the damning judgement by the equalities watchdog, the EHRC, regarding antisemitism within the party under Corbyn’s leadership.

It was Patrick Maguire and Gabriel Pogrund’s account of Starmer’s rise to power, Get In, that provided detail on McSweeney’s upbringing, and his own interest in fighting Jew-hate despite growing up in a Catholic household.

It noted how in 1994, he had dropped out of university, choosing instead to fly to Kibbutz Sarid, nine miles from Nazareth, where “the lazy teenager learned to work.”

“He built saw-cutters and grinding wheels,” the book added. “He returned to London not just with a tan but a work ethic.”

McSweeney, who went back to university on his return from Israel, joined Labour in 1998 after being inspired by the Good Friday Agreement.

It was this work ethic that helped guide Starmer to a seismic general election victory in 2024, with McSweeney widely praised for his role in making Labour appear electable again, including to significant numbers of British Jews.

But once in power, McSweeney and other senior Labour figures, including the PM himself, faced growing questions about their vision for the country, and were responsible for a series of blunders.

Some communal figures were also angered by Labour’s stance over Israel in the aftermath of the October 7 Hamas attacks.

Sources told Jewish News that McSweeney was among those to be surprised at the strength of the backlash to the government’s decision to suspend 30 arms licenses to Israel, over concern they were being used in Gaza in apparent breaches of international law.

He was of the view that more in the community would be supportive of the move, due to widespread opposition to Benjamin Netanyahu’s government among British Jews.

For McSweeney, the biggest blunder was high open admiration for Mandelson’s track record as a political heavyweight and strategist.

The PM’s adviser had been coming under pressure after pushing for the former minister to be given the top job as Britain’s US ambassador despite the peer’s relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein being publicly known at the time.

McSweeney said he did not oversee the vetting but wanted to take “full responsibility” for advising the prime minister to appoint him.

Starmer sacked Lord Mandelson in September, after emails emerged showing he sent supportive messages to Epstein as he faced charges for sex offences.

But further revelations this week from the latest release of Epstein files in the US about his continued contact with the late disgraced financier after his conviction in 2008 have led to fresh fury within Labour over the decision to hand him the role.

Emails suggesting the peer leaked sensitive government information to Epstein whilst a minister in the last Labour government have also prompted a police investigation into alleged misconduct in public office.

Reacting to his chief of staff’s departure, the PM said: “It’s been an honour working with Morgan McSweeney for many years.

“He turned our party around after one of its worst ever defeats and played a central role in running our election campaign. It is largely thanks to his dedication, loyalty and leadership that we won a landslide majority and have the chance to change the country.

“Having worked closely with Morgan in opposition and in government, I have seen every day his commitment to the Labour Party and to our country. Our party and I owe him a debt of gratitude, and I thank him for his service.”

Vidhya Alakeson and Jill Cuthbertson, who were McSweeney’s deputies, have been appointed Starmer’s joint acting chiefs of staff following his departure.

But another senior Jewish Labour figure was full only of praise for McSweeney, adding: “Morgan was personally affronted by the state of antisemitism in the Labour Party under Corbyn and determined to rip it out—not simply because without it, Labour would never win, but because it was the right thing to do.”

Starmer faced further problems on Monday after his director of communications Tim Allan announced he had resigned “to allow a new No.10 team to be built.”