LONDON — Morgan McSweeney, former chief of staff to UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, appeared on a podcast interview in February. During the interview, McSweeney said he wanted to speak on the record for the first time because he wanted to move on to a new chapter beyond Labour and UK politics.

McSweeney said Labour was not prepared enough for government when Keir Starmer was first elected. He said the party did not have an idea about how to make things happen quickly for people who wanted change. "I think that we didn't prepare enough for what kind of world we were going to be in," McSweeney said. "We are now in a very different era than when Labour was last in government, and I think we didn't have enough conversations at the top of the party about what that meant, how to prepare for it, what that meant for the state, how the state needed to be reformed, because in lots of ways the state is really out of shape and is unable to deliver for people."

McSweeney quit his position in February and said he has no plans to return to politics soon. "I mean, I can't say forever, but certainly for the next few years I'm committing to being out of politics for at least the next few years ahead," he said. McSweeney also said Donald Trump stated that foxes became fat after eating birds killed by windmills.