Morgan McSweeney Resigns
Newscast
BBC
4.3 • 6.6K Ratings
🗓️ 8 February 2026
⏱️ 26 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Right after we published our last episode the news that Morgan McSweeney had quit as the Prime Minister Keir Starmer's chief of staff broke.
So Paddy and political correspondent Joe Pike got back in the studio and got Laura up on the phone to chat through why he says he’s gone, who he is, what a chief of staff does, and who could replace him.
We also look at what it means for the prime minister, and why cabinet member Pat McFadden didn’t even see this coming.
You can now listen to Newscast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Newscast”. It works on most smart speakers.
You can join our Newscast online community here: https://bbc.in/newscastdiscord
Get in touch with Newscast by emailing newscast@bbc.co.uk or send us a WhatsApp on +44 0330 123 9480.
New episodes released every day. If you're in the UK, for more News and Current Affairs podcasts from the BBC, listen on BBC Sounds: https://bbc.in/4guXgXd
Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC.
The presenters were Laura Kuenssberg and Paddy O’Connell. It was made by Chris Flynn with Kris Jalowiecki. The technical producer was Frank McWeeny. The weekend series producer is Chris Flynn. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts. |
| 0:05.0 | Paddy, I'm on a train and I can see hills with snow on the top. |
| 0:09.7 | We've reconvened because the moment we published newscast around 2 o'clock, something happened, Laura. |
| 0:15.0 | Yes, Morgan McSweeney announced that he had decided to resign, which of course, just before 9 a.m., I had checked with two people |
| 0:23.3 | in government who both told me this was not going to happen. The cabinet minister, Patman, |
| 0:27.5 | and then said on the TV, not just that it was not going to happen, but also there was no point |
| 0:32.0 | in it happening. And yet, after two o'clock, the prime minister's controversial chief of Staff has either fallen on his sword or been pushed onto his sword. |
| 0:41.9 | And we're not quite sure which way around it was. |
| 0:43.8 | I can't quite get to the bottom of that. |
| 0:46.0 | But Morgan McSweeney has left government, which is important for all sorts of reasons. |
| 0:51.7 | The immediate reason, of course, is that he is the casualty of the decision |
| 0:55.9 | to give Peter Mandelson a job all those months ago. So Laura's on a train. So I'm going to read |
| 1:02.3 | Morgan McSweeney's statement a little bit of it. After careful reflection, I've decided to resign |
| 1:07.0 | from the government, the decision to appoint Peter Mandelson was wrong. He has damaged our |
| 1:11.1 | party, our country and trust in politics itself. And that is why we are here with a second Sunday |
| 1:17.7 | newscast. Newscast from the BBC. Fat boy sliver me in the class room doing our violin |
| 1:23.9 | lessons. I was the tappletail in the class. Can I have an apology, please. I trust almost nobody. Then daddy has to sometimes do strong language. Next time in Moscow. I feel delulu with no salulu. Take me down to Downey Street. Let's go have a tour. Blimey. Hello, it's Laura on a train. It's Paddy in the newscast, HQ. And Joe Pike also in HQ. |
| 1:45.7 | When shall we three meet again? |
| 1:47.7 | Almost immediately, because news doesn't stop. |
| 1:52.9 | I can't remember the next line, but be it thunder something or something. |
| 1:57.0 | And I won't be called Paddy's amazing quote. |
| 1:59.2 | If anyone knows, a Scottish play, it's a couple of weeks ago. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.