As Tim Allan quits No 10, will Keir Starmer be the last man standing?
While Tim Allan is not a name on everyone’s lips, his departure from Downing Street after just five months as communications director is another sign of a premiership in free fall.
Sir Keir Starmer is now searching for his fifth communications director after just 19 months in government; Assuming he stays in office long enough to appoint one, too.
The regular turnover of such an important role explains why Sir Keir, as prime minister, has continually struggled to find his voice and deliver a consistent message across government.
But the resignation shows real signs of a prime minister in trouble, as Mr Allan only took office in September last year.
It has already been reported that Sir Keir has failed to persuade anyone from outside his Downing Street operation to come up with new ideas to become the new chief of staff, forcing him to promote two of Mr McSweeney’s deputies as an interim measure. Even people currently working in other parts of government have made it clear they want no part of the toxic atmosphere in Downing Street.
Mr Allan was brought in by former chief of staff Morgan McSweeney, who resigned in dramatic fashion on Sunday.
He got the feeling that Mr. Allan was there not out of affection for Sir Keir but because Mr. McSweeney had begged him to join a struggling team; This perhaps explains why, 24 hours after McSweeney’s departure, he decided enough was enough.
A source told Independent: “Tim Allan’s heart was never in it; only his black book [of contacts].”
The appointment was made because Mr McSweeney was obsessed with recreating the Blair era for Labor. Mr Allan was part of the successful communications team that served Sir Tony Blair in the glory days of the early 2000s.
It was the same logic that led Starmer to appoint New Labour’s architect Peter Mandelson as US ambassador. Frankly, this decision triggered the potential collapse of this government. But the decision to appoint Mr Allan was damaging in a different way.
In his short time as Downing Street’s top director of communications, Mr Allan triggered an unnecessary war with parliamentary lobby journalists: canceling afternoon briefing sessions, restricting the number of morning briefings and trying to replace journalists’ questions with questions from social media influencers.
His arrival also ousts Sir Keir’s previous joint communications director, Steph Driver, whom he regarded as his only competent deputy in Downing Street.
The last thing a prime minister needs to do is struggle at the polls and lose the trust of his own Labor MPs for relations to be poisoned (even with friendly news brands).
There was speculation that Mr Allan was promised a peerage to return, but this now seems unlikely to be a gift he will receive.
But he didn’t need the money or the stress. Moments after the announcement, WhatsApp changed his profile photo to one that read “out of the office, went golfing.”
Meanwhile, he leaves behind a Prime Minister with no clear leadership in Downing Street, no communications director and declining support.
