Starmer appoints ‘safe pair of hands’ to run civil service as he prepares second major reset in five months

Sir Keir Starmer is preparing to appoint a candidate described as a “safe pair of hands” to run the civil service as he prepares to reset his government this week following a turbulent first five months in power.

The prime minister has appointed Sir Chris Wormald, the current permanent secretary to the Department of Health, as his cabinet secretary, Britain’s most senior civil service position.

It comes as he prepares to give a major speech on Thursday with “a plan for change” in the hope that it will get his beleaguered administration back on course after a series of missteps and miscommunications have left him facing a barage of criticism.

Sir Chris was the fourth favourite on a shortlist of four to get the job as Britain’s top mandarin, having been passed over by Boris Johnson in 2020. He has been described as a safe pair of hands, a steady-as-you-go candidate and “the consummate Sir Humphrey”.

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While the prime minister has said he wants to bring change and rewire the government, it has been noted that his choice to run the Whitehall machine is the least radical – with more dynamic candidates like Olly Robbins and Antonia Romeo passed over.

The appointment comes just two weeks before the departure of Simon Case, who is stepping down due to ill health.

In a troubled first five months, Sir Keir has also been forced to jettison his first choice of chief of staff Sue Gray who lost a power struggle with her replacement Morgan McSweeney.

At the end of last week he also lost his first cabinet minister after Louise Haigh was forced to resign as transport secretary over a historic fraud conviction. Sir Keir completed a reshuffle on Monday after promoting Heidi Alexander to replace Ms Haigh on Friday.

Ahead of his speech on Thursday, the government has also released a trickle of announcements on a new defence industrial strategy, critical ministerals and foreign policy.

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The rest is also aimed at offsetting a series of questions over economic policy with a junior minister unable to even confirm that economic growth was the top mission of the government and anger over Rachel Reeves’ Biudget particularly over national insurance rises and changes to inheritance tax which has dragged in farmers.

Ministers including Sir Keir have also been beset with criticisms over taking freebies including for designer glasses and clothes.

As part of the PM’s new agenda, Sir Chris will be tasked with pushing through an overhaul of Whitehall to focus it on Labour’s priorities for government - boosting the economy, cutting NHS waiting times, public safety, energy security and social mobility.

Unveiling the appointment, Sir Keir thanked Mr Case for his service and said he was “delighted” Sir Chris had taken the role.

“He brings a wealth of experience to this role at a critical moment in the work of change this new government has begun,” Sir Keir added.

Ahead of his relaunch, which comes after months of Labour declining in the polls, the prime minister said: “To change this country, we must change the way government serves this country... from breaking down silos across government to harnessing the incredible potential of technology and innovation, it will require nothing less than the complete rewiring of the British state to deliver bold and ambitious long-term reform.

“Delivering this scale of change will require exceptional civil service leadership. There could be no-one better placed to drive forward our plan for change than Chris.”

Sir Chris was made the Department for Health’s top civil servant in May 2016. He has previously held a series of top Whitehall posts, including as the Department for Education’s permanent secretary, director general in the deputy prime minister’s office and head of the economic and domestic secretariat in the Cabinet Office.

Sir Chris said: “I am delighted that the prime minister has appointed me to the privileged role of leading our talented civil service, as we rise to the challenge of delivering the government’s focused agenda to deliver its plan for change.

“The government has set a clear mandate – an ambitious agenda with working people at its heart. That will require each and every one of us to embrace the change agenda in how the British state operates.

“So I look forward to working with leaders across government, to ensure that the civil service has the skills they need to deliver across the breadth of the country.”

Sir Chris made headlines last year when the Covid inquiry was shown evidence that he was part of a group of powerful officials discussing the virus as like chickenpox as late as mid-March 2020.

The new cabinet secretary, in a discussion with one of his predecessors Lord Sedwill, said “yes exactly” when it was suggested to him that “like chickenpox we want people to get it and develop herd immunity before the next wave”.