Starmer made a lot of his desire to see civil servants work with new efficiency after getting out of their “tepid bath of managed decline.” For about 24 hours before he rolled back on that one…
At least one Cabinet minister is finding creative ways of using the ingenuity of civil servants. Guido hears from multiple Whitehall sources that Deputy PM Angela Rayner moved from her place on Vincent Square in December to a swanky government-owned flat in Admiralty House. Not that she did the move herself…
Rayner incredibly instructed civil servants in her private office to help with some of the removal – taking furniture here and there, cleaning up. Staff responsible for running the Deputy PM’s office were made to box up items to pack into a van outside. Guido hears they even emptied her fridge…
There is some disbelief in Whitehall. A Cabinet Office source tells Guido:
“Didn’t realise ‘removal man’ comes under the job description for Rayner’s civil servants.”
There is no word on whether the civil servants moved Rayner’s tepid bath as well. Interesting use of the machinery of government there…
Speaking on Times Radio, former Home Secretary David Blunkett spoke about overdiagnosis of mental problems:
“Let’s distinguish those who are really severely mentally ill, diagnosed with things that require prolonged medical and diagnostic treatment. My wife and I talk about this a lot, because she’s a retired GP, about the fact that you can be sad without being ill. You can be momentarily depressed because your boyfriend or girlfriend’s just thrown you and you’re not mentally ill. You can even have mild issues, which can be dealt with with the right kind of support, but it doesn’t make you mentally ill. So we’ve got a real task, I think, to get the psychology, if you like, of this over. But there are things where you definitely need medical intervention, and there are other things where you need good friends, you need good connectivity, and you need a job.”