Sue Gray is paid more than Keir Starmer: Does it matter?
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Sue Gray, who led the investigation into ‘partygate’ at 10 Downing Street during the pandemic, is being paid more than Keir Starmer as his chief of staff, it has emerged.
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In brief…
Read time: 4 mins
- Sue Gray is earning £3,000 more a year than Keir Starmer, who receives nearly £167,000 annually for his job as Prime Minister.
- She works as his Chief of Staff, and other special advisers in government have spoken anonymously about their shock at how much she earns.
- The News Agents say the bigger question is about her move from the civil service to a political role.
What's the story?
If you had to guess who was the highest paid member of the government, you might think it would be Keir Starmer.
But it has been revealed that Sue Gray, the Prime Minister's chief of staff, is earning £3,000 more than the PM in her annual salary of £170,000 a year.
In March 2023, Starmer was criticised by Conservatives for appointing Gray to the role when he was leader of the opposition. She had previously worked as a civil servant.
She led the investigation into 'partygate', the scandal that saw social events held in Downing Street while Boris Johnson was Prime Minister, while the UK was in lockdown during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Johnson said her 2023 appointment showed the inquiry had been flawed, while other Tory MPs demanded to know whether she was approached for the role before or after the investigation had been completed.
The BBC has reported that Gray, when accepting the chief of staff salary, declined an offer to take a salary slightly under the PMs, in order to avoid such a story emerging at a later date.
That later date is now, it appears.
One Labour insider told the BBC Sue Gray considers herself "to be the Deputy Prime Minister", the role officially held by Angela Rayner, adding 10 Downing Street is already "dysfunctional" in the way it runs.
What are the salaries inside Starmer's government?
Keir Starmer earns £166,786, while Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves is on £163,891.
In Rishi Sunak's government, Liam Booth Smith earned between £140-145,000 as the Tory chief of staff which, at the time, was the highest band for special advisers.
Starmer is reported to have overseen a raise to the salaries after taking power in July, although Sue Gray had no part in this decision, and is not on the highest rate now available to special advisers.
The basic salary of any UK MP is currently £91,346.
What's The News Agents' take?
Depending who you listen to, Jon Sopel says, there are two very different Sue Grays working in government.
She is either the “all powerful, all seeing, all knowing, puppeteer of the Downing Street operation,” or someone who's “just trying to do her best for Keir Starmer”.
“I've been told two things – that Sue Gray is swimming outside her lane far too much, and she's getting involved in things that she shouldn't just get involved with,” Jon says.
“Gray seems to be involved in an awful lot.
“Other people are saying she's doing it because no one else is doing the jobs properly, and there are too many other people who are just not making sure that the Prime Minister's writ runs.”
Emily Maitlis adds that, on the face of it, it might be “obvious” that no one working for the PM should be paid more than him, but suggests there are “very different jobs and very different ways of being remunerated.”
But being Prime Minister is a lucrative role, although the financial rewards don’t tend to drop into your bank until after one leaves power. Book deals, public speaking and advisory roles for major organisations are common for almost all ex-PMs.
The bigger question here, Jon ponders, is less what Gray is earning, and more how she has gone about making her move from an impartial civil servant, to a key member in the Labour government.
“It's a transgression about the natural order of things on which side of the bridge you stand – whether you're a civil servant or a politician,” he adds.
“But there are people who have got it in for her and want to do her down.”
Listen in full on The News Agents.
