Labour ministers have for months been busy briefing lines on cutting Whitehall staff numbers which have ballooned since Covid. New figures slipped out by the Cabinet Office – supposedly leading the charge on cutting back waste – show the complete opposite has happened since the general election. The purse strings are loosening…
In July 2024, the Cabinet Office and its agencies employed 10,749 full-time-equivalent staff, at an annual staffing cost of £62.8 million. That includes gold-plated pensions, allowances, consultancy fees, and annual salaries. Fast forward to April 2025, and instead of shrinking, the headcount has risen slightly to to 11,577 FTEs – an increase of 828 roles. The grand total bill came to a jaw-dropping £72,752,476.17. That’s an increase of £9.69 million, or over 15% in less than a year. That 15% is the same figure Reeves pledged in March as a target to reduce Whitehall running costs. Filling up the Cabinet Office with EU surrender staff might have had something to do with the spending splurge…
Sarah Pochin at Reform Scotland’s manifesto launch event: “I really wanted to come on in a Reform tartan burka, but apparently I wasn’t allowed… One day let’s do one of these events not live-streamed. We’ll do all the naughty stuff…”