SUE GRAY, chief of staff to Keir Starmer, is being paid £170,000 a year, making her salary £3,000 more than that of the prime minister.
The pay rise was given to Gray after Labour’s election victory, despite suggestions she take a slightly lower salary to avoid controversy, BBC reported.
The decision has sparked a row within government, with critics pointing out that Gray now earns more than any cabinet minister and her Conservative predecessor.
Gray’s predecessor, Lord Booth Smith, was paid between £140,000 and £145,000. The increase in Gray’s salary followed a rebanding of special adviser pay bands, a process that the government insists was carried out by officials, not Gray herself.
Her salary is not at the top of the new band, though insiders say it still reflects a growing sense of dysfunction at the highest levels of government.
Some advisers have expressed frustration with Gray’s prominent role in the administration, with one source telling the BBC that she “considers herself to be the deputy prime minister.” Others, however, have defended her, claiming the criticism is part of an unfair campaign against her.
The pay rise has also led to discontent among other special advisers, many of whom believe they are underpaid compared to their previous positions in opposition.
Some blame Gray for the delays in finalising pay bands and formal contracts, which left many advisers unsure of their compensation until after they had started working.
A Cabinet Office spokesperson defended the process, stating that “political appointees” like Gray had no role in determining their own pay, and that all decisions on pay were made by officials, not advisers.
