Keir Starmer vows to unleash ‘shackled’ civil servants

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has written to civil servants to promise reforms that will unshackle them from bureaucracy and stop their talent being “constrained”, as he seeks to sell officials on plans to cut their jobs.

The prime minister wants to reduce staff levels, introduce performance-related pay and sack civil servants who do not meet their standards.

He is facing opposition from Civil Service unions, who over the weekend accused the government of “the retreading of failed ideas and narratives” and risked “treating the civil service as a political punchbag”.

This morning Sir Keir sought to make his arguments to civil servants directly, in an email sent to half a million officials.

In the letter, the prime minister wrote that he wanted a “more agile, mission-focused and more productive” Civil Service.

He continued: “The Civil Service must once again become the engine room of delivery for every person in every part of the UK.

“Each one of you must be enabled to re-focus on your core purpose, away from the things that hamper your day to day work, delivering excellent, high-performing public services that improve people’s lives.

“We know many of you feel shackled by bureaucracy, frustrated by inefficiency and unable to harness new technology. Your talent has been constrained for too long.

“We are determined to empower you – not through words, but action – to maximise the collective power of the state.”

Crucially, the letter was also signed by Sir Chris Wormald, the cabinet secretary and head of the civil service.

In what may have been an attempt to reassure civil servants of his support for their work, the prime minister praised the “talent, commitment and ideas” of officials, adding: “We are proud of what you do and thank you for your continued dedication.”

Labour’s eight months in office have been marked by private dissatisfaction among ministers and their advisers with the work of the civil service. Occasionally this has spilled into public view, most notably when the prime minister in December claimed that “too many people in Whitehall are comfortable in the tepid bath of managed decline”.

Sir Keir is expected to expand on his plans for civil service reform at an event on Thursday.

After Pat McFadden, who runs the Cabinet Office, unveiled some of the agenda at the weekend, he faced a sceptical response from the unions representing civil servants.

Dave Penman, the general secretary of the FDA, which represents senior civil servants, said: “If the government is serious about transforming public services they must set out what the substance of reform looks like, not just the retreading of failed ideas and narratives.”

He added that meaningful reform “must put substance before headlines”, and that if McFadden wanted civil servants to focus on delivery – while government departments simultaneously cut resources – “ministers need to set realistic priorities”.

Mike Clancy, head of the Prospect union which represents more than 32,000 civil servants, said: “Nobody would say the Civil Service is perfect, and our members are willing partners in reform, but this government must end the tradition of treating the Civil Service as a political punchbag.”