Is Morgan McSweeney Labour’s enforcer or Starmer’s controller? – with Steve Richards

The Bunker

Podmasters

News, Politics, Society & Culture, Government

4.6 • 984 Ratings

🗓️ 23 April 2025

⏱️ 30 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Labour’s election guru, a modern-day Macchiavelli, the power behind the PM, a “permanent insurgent”… Starmer’s Chief Of Staff Morgan McSweeney is perhaps the most powerful unelected person in politics. Who is he? What does he want? Is he behind the party’s lurch right – and can he win Labour a second term? Steve Richards of the unmissable Rock and Roll Politics podcast tells Andrew Harrison what makes McSweeney tick. • Support us on Patreon for early episodes and more. • We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to indeed.com/bunker to get your £100 sponsored credit. Written and presented by Group Editor Andrew Harrison. Audio production by Charlie Duffield. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production www.podmasters.co.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Podcast advertising. It's an up and down business and you can't bank on it. That's why we depend on your
0:05.0	support via Patreon to keep the podcasts coming. Pledge a little every month and you'll get ad-free
0:10.0	editions, special extras and our undying gratitude. Follow the link in the show notes to find out more.
0:17.5	Oh, another miss. Oh, I think you need your eyes tested, Nick.
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0:26.5	which not only checks your eyesight, but your eye health too.
0:29.8	It also includes a UV and dry eye assessment,
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0:36.9	Book your advanced eye test today. Vision
0:39.2	Express. Express your vision. T&Z Apply. Upgrade your free NHS, PRSI medical card eye test for a nominal fee.
0:58.7	Hello and welcome back to the bunker, cutting through the noise with what you really need to know.
1:00.7	Every weekday morning, I'm Andrew Harrison.
1:03.3	Three things are certain in life.
1:08.2	Death, taxes, and the Labour government's backroom operation being a bit of a shambles.
1:11.1	This was the received wisdom since Labour hit the ground stumbling last July, and it was the reason behind one of Stamber's biggest early moves when,
1:15.6	last October, he replaced his chief of staff, Sue Gray, the supposedly safe pair of hands who
1:20.6	wrote the Partygate report, with a much more combative figure, Morgan McSweeney,
1:25.1	described variously as Labour's election guru, a modern-day Machiavelli,
1:29.4	the party's arch strategist, the power behind the PM, and a permanent insurgent,
1:34.7	McSweeney is more than just the street fighter that every government needs.
1:38.6	According to Patrick McGuire and Gabriel Pogrand of the Times, in their accounts of Stama's
	...

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