Sue Gray has learnt from her decades in government how to stop quarrels spiralling out of control. Now she’s applying those lessons to keeping the unpredictable Angela Rayner tied in. “She isn’t taking any chances”, a source told i , and has implemented a “quad” system to ensure any disagreements between Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his Deputy Prime Minister are easily resolved.
Relations between Starmer and Rayner appear to have thawed since the frosty period when he tried to demote her , she refused, and he promoted her instead. But Gray, Starmer’s chief of staff, isn’t taking the risk that relations will collapse again and has designed a way to “bind in” the Deputy PM to prevent any potential for her “going rogue”, according to a source. “Sue isn’t taking any chances” the source said.
Gray borrowed the idea of a “quad” from the 2010 Coalition government where the Tories and the Liberal Democrats didn’t entirely trust each other. Four senior ministers – Starmer, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves , Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden, and Rayner will oversee key decisions together. No 10 insiders insisted, however, that the intention of the quad was not to restrict Ms Rayner in any way, and said she was included in the grouping because it was based on the arrangements under the Coalition Government, when Nick Clegg was part of the quad as Deputy Prime Minister.
The quad is one aspect of Gray’s work to ensure th.
