Morgan McSweeney, who became the prime minister’s chief of staff following Sue Gray’s resignation, said the “heated comments” surrounding her position “could be a distraction”.
It comes after weeks of criticism and briefings on Ms Gray, who reportedly clashed with Mr McSweeney, who serves as the prime minister’s chief political adviser.
Downing Street hopes the promotion of McSweeney, who engineered Labour’s general election, will help the government move forward after infighting and a dispute over political donations.
McSweeney, who was born in Macroom, County Cork, joined the Labor Party under Tony Blair, holding a junior position in the party office.
He later began working for Steve Reid, now environment secretary but then the MP for Lambeth, south London, who was trying to wrest control of the party from the far left.
Mr McSweeney helped the party successfully campaign and take control of parliament in 2006, with Reid becoming leader.
His reputation as a skilled campaign strategist was further cemented in Barking and Dagenham, where the far-right, anti-immigration British National Party is gaining support and hoping to win its first parliamentary seat in 2010.
Mr McSweeney played a key role in defeating the BNP in the region, focusing his campaign on local issues.
However, his campaigns were not always successful – in 2015 he campaigned against Blairite Liz Kendall to become Labor leader, while she ran in a contest won by Jeremy Corbyn It only received 4.5% of the vote.
In 2017, Mr McSweeney became a director of the think tank Common Labour, which opposed the direction of Labour’s leadership under Corbyn and subsequently backed Sir Keir Starmer.
He left the organization to participate in Sir Keir’s 2020 leadership bid and later became his chief of staff, when he played a key role in ousting Corbyn supporters from positions of power.
As Labour’s campaign director, Mr McSweeney will be tasked with developing the party’s strategy for July’s general election.
He is considered the brains behind the campaign, in which the party won a landslide victory.
Upcoming New Labor MPs include his wife Imogen Walker, a former MP for Lambeth who now represents Hamilton and the Clyde Valley.
Now, as the prime minister’s chief of staff – one of the most important roles in Downing Street – his influence over the future direction of the government has grown even further.
