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…
Latest quarterly civil service headcount figures reveal that there are now 515,000 pen-pushers – as high as it was under arch blob-lover Tony Blair in 2006. And 2,000 more since Labour came into power…
The Ministry of Justice added another 595 staff to its ranks, the Department for Work and Pensions rose by 355, and the Treasury brought in 315 more mandarins. William Yarwood at the TaxPayers’ Alliance said:
“Taxpayers are sick to the back teeth of coughing up for evermore useless civil servants. Despite there being more civil servants than since the Blair era, the British state is more dysfunctional and decrepit than ever before. The government needs to take an axe to our sprawling civil service and scrap all functions and jobs that aren’t necessary.”
Despite Starmer’s calls to reform the civil service, briefings that up to 10,000 jobs across the civil service could face the chop and the now infamous “tepid bath of decline” comments, the now no longer “world-leading” civil service continues to balloon for the eighth year in a row. As Guido revealed no fewer than 100 are employed by the EU surrender Unit…
Labour’s efforts to thwart more strikes and re-build the relationship with the unions continue to fall flat. For the first time, Metropolitan Police staff have voted to strike after 2,400 staff were ordered to grace their desks…three days a week. The PCS Union – the largest trade union in the civil service – said a whopping 85% of its members backed the walkout. Including 999 call handlers and child protection officers…
Civil Service union PCS’ General Secretary Fran Heathcote lamented the “stress” of commuting for staff. She naturally blamed the ‘right-wing media’ for the whole affair:
“Our members are not bobbies on the beat. They are desk-based civilians who work from home just as productively as if they were in the office, but without the stress and cost of a daily commute. It’s time politicians and the right-wing media stopped their obsession with telling people where they have to work.”
Meanwhile, Starmer’s saccharine letter to civil service staff hasn’t calmed tensions, with the FDA civil service union head Dave Penman ripping into Starmer’s “‘tepid bath’ jibe,” which “still jars”, saying it was “cackhanded attempt to sound innovative,” and has “done a lot of damage.” Starmer’s stuck in the handcuffs on this one…
Labour is ploughing ahead with its vaunted EU “reset” – Starmer is due to meet the 27 European Council leaders on 3rd February, the first PM to do so since Brexit. Back at home the machinery of the blob is being squarely aimed towards the continent…
Guido revealed in October that the Home Office was forming a new “Europe Hub” to forge closer ties to the bloc. Now Guido hears a massive new EU unit has set up in the all-powerful Cabinet Office. Primarily formed from staff in the FCDO’s old European Union Relations Directorate, the hub reports to Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden. So far the UK’s efforts for a reset have resulted in the EU advising member states to block our access to their energy markets…
Around 60 staff are working in the unit on the third floor of the Cabinet Office. One civil servant with knowledge of the hub says it’s working towards “softening rough edges” with the EU on regulatory matters. The stagnant EU is determined to play hard ball – all while the UK pivots away from a fast-growing United States…
The Civil Service is no stranger to absent-mindedly misplacing thousands of pounds worth of equipment. They can’t help themselves…
Guido has been firing Freedom of Information requests around Whitehall to analyse just how much taxpayer-funded kit is going missing from departments. The Department for Education has managed to lose a whopping 72 pieces of kit since April alone. Despite only 69% of them bothering to turn up to the office from July to September…
31 laptops and 41 phones have been lost or stolen in the months of April to October with a total value of £8,262.01. October was the worst for both phones and laptop misplacements with 8 and 9 lost respectively – the figures have risen overall since Labour came to power. Curiously the cost of replacing all this tech is significantly higher than the original equipment at a whopping £39,641.66. Quite some upgrades…
Starmer has written to all civil servants today. He’s lathering it on thick since he said they were sitting in a tepid bath of managed decline then reversed his position within a day…
Unions representing civil servants are not happy with Keir. There is still discontent bubbling despite McFadden’s blame-shifting reform speech yesterday – one civil servant tells Guido Starmer is producing a “stream of negative comments that erode away their goodwill. Right now, a tepid bath seems to be the the only thing he is capable of running.” Keir spends the first two paragraphs talking about how great the Civil Service is. Pass the sick cup…
“from all I have seen during my first five months as Prime Minister, my appreciation of your service to this country has only grown… It is not just because I know how hard you work. It is because I understand something of what drives your dedication and professionalism. You have this strong sense of public service in everything you do. For you, it’s not just a job. You want to change the country and make Britain a better place. Put simply, I believe we all share the same goal – we have all followed a path towards public service to serve our country.”
Starmer goes on to blame politics for issues in the blob as he invites Whitehall to “feel emboldened to challenge” those “things that hold you back from delivering the change we need to deliver.” He then holds up the response to the summer riots as a model for how to act in future, before thanking them again. Downing Street will hope that this can calm nerves…
Read Starmer’s full letter below:
Continue reading “Starmer Writes Conciliatory Letter to All Civil Servants in “Tepid Bath” Fallout”
Former leader of the SNP in Westminster Ian Blackford told Times Radio why he believes Nicola Sturgeon’s claim that she spent no time in the kitchen and therefore didn’t see any of her husband’s purchases:
“She doesn’t have a passion for cooking.”