Matthew Doyle (political adviser)
Matthew Doyle | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) Doyle in March 2009 | |||||||||||||||||
| Downing Street Director of Communications | |||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 5 July 2024 | |||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | Keir Starmer | ||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Nerissa Chesterfield | ||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||
| Born | Matthew Leo Doyle June 1975 (age 49) | ||||||||||||||||
| Political party | Labour | ||||||||||||||||
Matthew Leo Doyle (born June 1975)[1] is a British political adviser and political aide who has served as Downing Street Director of Communications since July 2024.
Early life
[edit]Matthew Leo Doyle was born in June 1975.[1]
Career
[edit]Under Blair and Brown (1998–2012)
[edit]Doyle was Head of Press and Broadcasting for the Labour Party between November 1998 and May 2005.[2] He was then special adviser to Work and Pensions Secretary, David Blunkett, from May to November 2005, before working as a special adviser to Prime Minister Tony Blair from November 2005 to June 2007.[2] He was the Downing Street Deputy Director of Communications under Blair.[3] He departed Downing Street after Tony Blair left office as Prime Minister, and went on to work as the Political Director of Blair's office from June 2007 to February 2012.[2]
Doyle was also the TV Debates Media Director for Prime Minister Gordon Brown in the 2010 general election.[2]
After Blair (2012–2021)
[edit]In 2012, he established his own political consultancy, MLD Advisory Ltd.[2] He also spent two years as the Director of Communications for the International Rescue Committee under former Foreign Secretary David Miliband.[2][4]
Doyle led the press operation for Liz Kendall's campaign in the 2015 Labour leadership election.[5]
Controversially Doyle was appointed for 3 months as a media adviser to Secretary-General Patricia Scotland at the Commonwealth Secretariat in April 2016. Leaks to the media showed that he had been paid £48,000 for the 3 months work. [6]
Under Starmer (2021–present)
[edit]Shortly after the Labour's defeat in the 2021 Hartlepool by-election,[7] Doyle was appointed the Labour Party Director of Communications on an interim basis under Leader Keir Starmer, with the role later becoming permanent.[8][9][10] After Labour's victory in the 2024 general election,[11] Doyle was appointed Downing Street Director of Communications.[12][13]
Personal life
[edit]Doyle is Roman Catholic.[14]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Matthew Leo DOYLE personal appointments - Find and update company information - GOV.UK". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 2024-07-19.
- ^ a b c d e f "Experience | Matthew Doyle". Retrieved 2024-07-19.
- ^ "Tony Blair's political director Matthew Doyle resigns to pursue other interests | PR Week". 2013-10-12. Archived from the original on 2013-10-12. Retrieved 2024-07-19.
- ^ Rodgers, Sienna (2021-06-23). "Matthew Doyle appointed as interim director of communications". LabourList. Retrieved 2024-07-19.
- ^ Hayward, Freddie (2023-09-06). "Starmer's transition from soft-left to Labour right is complete". New Statesman. Retrieved 2024-07-19.
- ^ https://order-order.com/2017/01/27/baroness-scotlands-aide-matthew-doyle-caught-red-handed/
- ^ Steerpike (2021-06-25). "Labour director of communications: runners and riders". The Spectator. Retrieved 2024-07-19.
- ^ "Who's who in Prime Minister Keir Starmer's inner circle". Sky News. Retrieved 2024-07-19.
- ^ "Sir Keir Starmer picks ex-Tony Blair aide as interim communications chief". BBC News. 2021-06-23. Retrieved 2024-07-19.
- ^ "Keir Starmer's ruthless remaking of the Labour party". www.ft.com. Retrieved 2024-07-19.
- ^ Walker, Peter; correspondent, Peter Walker Senior political (2024-05-24). "Meet the top teams: the key election advisers to Sunak and Starmer". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-07-19.
{{cite news}}:|last2=has generic name (help) - ^ "Who are the key people inside Labour's leadership team? | Labour | The Guardian". amp.theguardian.com. Retrieved 2024-07-19.
- ^ "Meet Downing Street's new comms team | PR Week". 2024-07-09. Archived from the original on 2024-07-09. Retrieved 2024-07-19.
- ^ "Faith at the heart of Keir Starmer's team". www.churchtimes.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-07-19.