By Oskar Hyams
In the early afternoon of Sunday, February 8th, 2026, Morgan McSweeney resigned as Keir Starmer’s Chief of Staff, “after careful reflection,” following his role in the appointment of Peter Mandelson as Ambassador to the United States.
This appointment created a political firestorm following the unearthing of Mandelson’s close relationship with sex-offender Jeffrey Epstein (with whom he shared internal government information during the Brown Government) in the Epstein Files.
However, the Mandelson scandal only appears to be the final straw. Despite his central role in Labour landslide victory in the Summer of 2024, following the Government’s attempts to cut welfare (which was met with a rebellion by over 100 Labour MPs) he has faced a mounting insurgency from the Labour backbenches.
So, who is Morgan McSweeney, why did Labour MPs want him gone and what were his links to Peter Mandelson’s appointment?
Originally from County Cork, McSweeney moved to London at 17, working as a builder until he was offered a place at the London School of Economics. However, he later dropped out, moved to Israel for 6 months and then returned to the UK to study Politics and Marketing at Middlesex University.
In 2006, he established himself as a skilled campaigner when he helped (now Housing Minister) Steve Reed get elected as leader of Lambeth Council. McSweeney then began his involvement in Labour leadership in 2015, when he ran Blairite Liz Kendall’s attempt to become Labour leader, but she only gained 4.5% of votes and Corbyn became leader.
In 2020, he then went from a skilled campaigner to a kingmaker, when he ran Keir Starmer’s leadership bid (which he won with more than 56% of the vote), and he helped with removing Corbyn supporters from positions of power in the Labour Party.
This led to Corbyn having his party whip suspended and former Shadow Education Secretary, Rebecca Long-Bailey, being sacked from the Shadow Cabinet after both faced claims of antisemitism.
Following the calling of the 2024 General Election, he oversaw the coordination of the targeting of marginal constituencies and was then appointed Starmer’s Chief of Staff following the resignation of Sue Gray.
However, McSweeney’s kingmaker reputation gave him the confidence to run No. 10 like an absolute monarch. This led Labour MPs to see him less as an asset who would help keep the party in power and more as a hindrance as he pushed his Blue Labour agenda.
This can most clearly be seen in the Welfare Rebellion in the Summer of 2025, where more than 120 Labour MPs threatened to block the Government’s plans to cut disability and sickness related benefits leading to significant concessions needed to be made by Ministers to pass the bill. Many MPs blamed McSweeney for encouraging the Treasury to rush through the cuts to give the Chancellor more budgetary headroom in the Spring Statement.
One Labour MP even discussed “Regime change” in a Labour WhatsApp group following McSweeney’s actions.
This tension left him with no leverage to rely on when the Mandelson scandal broke. This scandal stems from documents released by the Department of Justice in the US, which revealed that Mandelson stayed in contact with convicted sex-offender Epstein longer than he had admitted to the No. 10 vetting team.
This contact contained market-sensitive government information which has led to the Met Police launching enquiries over allegations of misconduct in public office. This led to McSweeney’s resignation as, although he did not oversee Mandelson’s vetting, he did advise the Prime Minister to appoint Mandelson.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch stated it was “about time” McSweeney had resigned but echoed Green Leader Polanski’s and Lib Dem Deputy Leader Cooper’s messages to Starmer stating that “the buck stops with him”.
In his final reflections, McSweeney emphasised the importance of “remembering” the girls whose “lives were ruined by Epstein” and called for an “overhaul” of current government vetting processes. However, it remains to be seen if McSweeney’s resignation will be enough to take some momentum out of the calls for Starmer to resign but without his kingmaker, Starmer’s future lies in the hands of the Labour MPs who McSweeney tried to force into line.
The Prime Minister is expected to announce the Government’s plans to address the issues concerning the Mandelson scandal as soon as Monday (9th February 2026).
Thumbnail image: Defence Images via Openverse