What is the point of Sue Gray?

Keir Starmer takes centre stage at Labour’s conference in Liverpool today, but whatever the Prime Minister has to say, the truth is that the event has been overshadowed. The Prime Minister must have hoped this would be a triumphant gathering bathed in the glow of a landslide election victory less than 12 weeks ago. Instead he will be disappointed: the decision to cut winter fuel payments has sparked fury and there is deep unease at the row over ministers accepting gifts from wealthy donors. The discovery that Sue Gray, the prime minister’s chief of staff, is paid more than her boss also continues to cause tension – not least because many of the missteps made by the Prime Minister should have been dealt with more effectively by a competent chief of staff.

When the story about Gray’s salary of £170,000 emerged last week a dangerous number of Labour figures were willing, albeit anonymously, to criticise her style and performance.