Starmer’s spin unit in disarray after third key figure leaves in six months

Sir Keir Starmer has lost a third key figure from his Downing Street media operation in six months following the departure of his official spokesman.

David Pares will return to the Treasury as its director of communications and will be tasked with selling Rachel Reeves’s make-or-break Budget on Nov 26.

Downing Street staff told the Financial Times that Mr Pares had been “poached” by the Treasury for the newly created position.

He became Rishi Sunak’s official spokesman shortly before the 2024 general election and remained in post when Sir Keir took office in July last year.

His departure from Downing Street comes weeks after James Lyons, the former Mirror political editor, quit after less than a year as the most senior No 10 communications chief.

Mr Lyons had been appointed to oversee “strategic” communications including the operation of the No 10 “grid”, which is used to plan policy announcements in advance.

Revolving door at No 10

In March, Matthew Doyle took Westminster by surprise by suddenly stepping down as the Prime Minister’s director of communications.

Mr Doyle, who said it was “time to pass the baton on”, was blamed by some in Labour for failing to give the party a driving narrative after taking office.

Sir Keir carried out an internal reset at the start of September which was widely seen to undermine Ms Reeves’s authority.

The Prime Minister announced he had brought in three economic experts to oversee the Chancellor in a move that triggered a jump in Britain’s borrowing costs.

Sir Keir plucked Darren Jones, who was Ms Reeves’s number two in the Treasury and is touted as a future Labour leader, for his Downing Street team.

He was joined by Baroness Shafik, the former Bank of England deputy governor who sits as a cross-bench peer, and Dan York-Smith, who spent two decades at the Treasury.

The reset was soon overshadowed by the resignation of Angela Rayner as Deputy Prime Minister in the wake of a Telegraph investigation into her taxes.

Just days after Ms Rayner quit, Sir Keir sacked Lord Mandelson as his ambassador to the US after the emergence of emails which revealed the extent of his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein.

Ms Reeves’s first Budget last year raised taxes by a record £40bn. This included a £25bn raid on businesses through an increase to employers’ National Insurance.

Mr Pares’s first major task will be defending the Chancellor’s decisions in November, when she is expected to impose more sweeping tax rises as she looks to address an estimated £20bn shortfall in the public finances.

Downing Street confirmed Mr Pares’s departure to the Financial Times but declined to comment further.

[Source: Daily Telegraph]