Morgan McSweeney’s resignation won’t save Starmer
Morgan McSweeney has resigned, which felt inevitable but is still a shock to the government and to SW1 in general. His closeness to Peter Mandelson and his role in promoting him for the ambassadorship in Washington has been exposed as a grave error – though not, I think, one which was as predictable as everyone now claims. In his dignified resignation statement, McSweeney writes: ‘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.’ The problem is that McSweeney was not the only one advising on Mandelson.
