Starmer’s former chief of staff: Labour was ‘morally broken’ on antisemitism
Morgan McSweeney gives first interview since leaving job to BBC's Nick Robinson
Keir Starmer’s former chief of staff has given his first interview since leaving the role, describing his efforts to drive antisemitism out of what he called a “morally broken” Labour Party.
Morgan McSweeney, 49, described one of his key goals after Starmer became Labour leader: “I was very angry about antisemitism, but even more angry about the denial of antisemitism, because in lots of ways that was almost worse.”
In an interview with BBC presenter Nick Robinson’s Political Thinking podcast, McSweeney rejected claims that he had set out to marginalise the far-left in a sectarian fashion. Instead, he argued: “We had to drive antisemitism out of the Labour Party.
“The Labour Party had got into a very bad place morally on antisemitism.”
“Jewish members felt uncomfortable about being in the Labour Party, felt they were victimised inside the Labour Party, and we had to be very, very focused on getting it out.”
Responding to claims from Corbynite MP Ian Byrne, who labelled him a “sectarian operator who wanted the left dead,” Irish-born McSweeney said he was “very comfortable” with the fight against anti-Jewish racism.
This, he explained, meant “taking out the kind of organisations that were supporting it, suspending people, passing the rules that were necessary.” McSweeney emphasised, “The party was morally broken on that issue, that wasn’t about focusing on the left, that was about focusing on antisemites and antisemitism within the Labour Party.”
Rejecting claims that he harboured animosity toward individual figures such as Jeremy Corbyn, McSweeney added: “The failure to tackle a problem is obviously a serious matter in itself, but to deny the problem even exists felt like gaslighting people.
“So, I thought it was getting into a very bad place, morally, and I didn’t like that that was happening to the Labour Party.”
McSweeney also said his other key aim was to get the Labour Party to focus on the country rather than ideology.
“We needed to reorientate the party to be laser-like focused on the voters, because when it’s not, it doesn’t serve people in government, it doesn’t serve people in local government, and it doesn’t win elections, and that is its purpose.”
However, McSweeney admitted that Labour was not prepared enough for government or for the volatile world when Starmer was first elected.
McSweeney, widely credited within Labour for the scale of its 2024 victory, said the party lacked a clear plan to deliver rapid change for those who wanted it.
The former No 10 aide, who quit in February after the decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as US ambassador, said he wanted to speak on the record for the first time because he now wished to “move on to a new chapter” beyond Labour and UK politics.
He said he now wanted to go in a “completely different direction” professionally, with no plans to return to politics soon. “I mean, I can’t say forever, but certainly for the next few years I’m committing to being out of politics for at least the next few years ahead,” he said.
As Labour Together director, McSweeney had declared his aims to be “to move the Labour party from the hard left” and to “build a sustainable winning electoral coalition.”
In 2020, he led the successful Labour leadership campaign of Starmer and subsequently led Labour’s successful campaign in the 2024 general election.
On 8 February 2026, following increasing internal pressures, McSweeney resigned as Starmer’s chief of staff.
In a written statement, McSweeney took responsibility for the decision to appoint Peter Mandelson, acknowledging it was wrong and had damaged the party and trust in politics. He stated that stepping aside was “the only honourable course”.
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