Keir Starmer’s director of communications, Matthew Doyle, is standing down from his role after nine months in No 10, the Guardian understands.
Doyle is the second senior member of Starmer’s team to be in post for less than a year after the election, following the departure of Sue Gray as his chief of staff in the autumn.
The senior special adviser is understood to have decided to go 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.
Doyle, who had previously worked for Tony Blair, joined Starmer’s team in 2021 as interim communications director, making him one of the prime minister’s most longstanding aides. He is expected to stand down from the role with immediate effect.
In an email to his No 10 team, seen by the Guardian, Doyle wrote: “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.”
After thanking civil service colleagues, he added: “To my political colleagues, we’ve been on quite a journey, and I look forward to cheering you, Keir and the whole government on from the sidelines. I can’t wait to see what you all do next.”
Doyle’s exit will pave the way for the elevation of James Lyons, a former NHS and TikTok communications chief, and former political journalist, who will become director of communications (strategy). Lyons joined earlier this year as a strategic adviser and is seen as being favoured by Morgan McSweeney, Starmer’s chief of staff.
Doyle’s deputy, Steph Driver, will also be promoted, taking on the role of director of communications (delivery), where she will oversee Starmer’s day-to-day media coverage.
Doyle has more than a quarter of a century of experience with Labour, beginning as a press officer for the party in 1998.
After a brief stint as an adviser to David Blunkett, then the work and pensions secretary, Doyle moved into Blair’s No 10 in 2005, rising to become deputy head of communications. He carried on working for Blair after he left office for another five years.
Later, as well as setting up his own consultancy, Doyle spent a period working at the charity International Rescue with David Miliband, the former Blair-era foreign secretary.
Doyle’s move to take over communications for Starmer after Labour’s Hartlepool byelection defeat in May 2021, considered the low point for Starmer as opposition leader, was seen as an attempt to inject some experience into the operation.
