Sir Keir Starmer’s communications chief has stepped down from his role after a turbulent nine months in Downing Street and repeated complaints about the party’s media strategy.
Matthew Doyle, who also served as a special adviser under Sir Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, is stepping down as director of communications with immediate effect. Cabinet ministers had frequently complained about Labour’s communication including around its post-election conference last September.
Many within Labour had called for a change in direction and sources in Downing Street have said they are happy with the reset.
He is the second senior member of Sir Keir’s team to leave in less than a year following his former chief of staff Sue Gray, who was forced out in a power struggle with her successor Morgan McSweeney.
Mr Doyle is understood to have decided now is the time to step down after feeling he had stabilised No 10’s communications strategy and narrative over the past few months, following the turbulence of the early days in government, The Guardian reported.
In an email to his team seen by the paper, he said: “When I started working for Keir four years ago, not many people thought we could win a general election and certainly not in the emphatic way we did. That was down to the hard work and determination of so many people and of course Keir’s leadership.
“I am incredibly proud of the part I have played in returning our party to government and the change we are already bringing to the country.
“Now it’s time to pass the baton on.”
Mr Doyle said the political team in Downing Street have been on “quite a journey” and said he will be cheering the government on “from the sidelines”.
The PM said: “Matthew brought his considerable experience to my team in summer 2021 and has worked tirelessly by my side every day since playing a leading role in Labour’s historic election win.
“On a personal level, it has been a real privilege to work with him on behalf of the entire team.”
He is not being directly replaced, but will have his role split between deputy communications director, Steph Driver, and James Lyons, a former TikTok communications chief who has served as a strategic advisor since earlier this year and will take the director of communications role.
Ms Gray was sacked as chief of staff last year after losing a power struggle with election strategist Morgan McSweeney.
It came as the PM sought to reshuffle his top team of advisers amid a dreadful start to his government plagued by infighting, a row over freebies and complaints that he had failed to get his message across on thorny issues like the ditching of winter fuel payments.
Mr Doyle was Labour’s head of press and broadcasting from November 1998 to May 2005, before joining Sir Tony’s team as deputy director of communications.
He was then in charge of TV debates under Mr Brown as prime minister in the 2010 general election.
He returned to Sir Keir’s team initially on an interim basis after Labour lost the Hartlepool by-election in 2021, with his role eventually being made permanent. Despite speculation Labour would replace Mr Doyle and seek to fill the role with a senior political journalist, he was brought into Downing Street as director of communications after the general election in July.
As well as setting up his own consultancy, Mr Doyle also spent a period working at the International Rescue Committee with former foreign secretary David Miliband.
Mr Doyle has been approached for comment.