Reform UK has set out radical plans to transform the civil service, including scrapping the Cabinet Office, bringing “the great majority of quangos and agencies” back in-house and drafting in new leadership from outside of government.
A near 5,000-word paper put out by party policy chief Danny Kruger over the weekend also expands on a previous pledge to scrap the role of cabinet secretary and commits to “cutting non-operations professions like policy, comms and HR by at least 50%”.
The document, titled Fixing the Centre, says Reform UK expects “significant reductions” in headcount at all levels of government, driven by the “enormous transformation that AI is bringing to clerical and analytic work” should it win power at the next general election. However, it projects a “significant increase” in the number of special advisers appointed to support the work of ministers.
Other measures in the paper include “radical change” to civil service pay and reward, with “modernised terms for new hires”, that would offer more generous salaries with a “greater performance-related element” but “more modest” pensions.
Civil service union Prospect described the proposals outlined in Fixing the Centre as “a recipe for organisational chaos” that demonstrated Reform UK does not understand how government works. The FDA said expectations of the magnitude of headcount reduction that AI could deliver were “not credible”. PCS said the proposals raise “serious questions” about the future independence of the civil service.
Despite only having a handful of MPs, Reform UK – led by Nigel Farage – was the clear victor in May 7’s local government elections and is currently ahead of both the Labour Party and the Conservative Party in national opinion polls. An Ipsos poll published on Friday showed 27% of respondents indicating that they will vote for Reform UK at the next general election, against 20% for Labour and 19% for the Conservatives.
Fixing the Centre says Reform UK would replace the Cabinet Office with two new departments: an Office of the Prime Minister and a Department of the Civil Service, with policymaking functions returning to departments.
The role of cabinet secretary – currently held by Dame Antona Romeo – would be split between three roles: a chief of staff to the prime minister, who will be the senior special adviser in government; a chief secretary, who would also be a political appointment; and the head of the civil service – who would be the chief executive of the “DCS”.
Kruger said that the DCS chief executive is “likely to be a business leader with experience of transforming large organisations”.
According to Kruger, experience of government is not seen as a bar – but is “not necessary”.
“What is necessary is extensive experience turning around large organisations, delivering major headcount reductions and improvements in the quality and productivity of the team,” he says.
Party expects ‘significant number’ of new perm secs
Fixing the Centre notes that the “OPM” permanent secretary will be a “career civil servant” but “not necessarily recruited from the current permanent secretary cadre”. It says a Reform UK government would appoint “a significant number” permanent secretaries from outside the civil service. “We are looking for proven leaders with a track record of effective delivery and the interplay of strategy, analysis and operations,” it says.
The paper adds that Reform UK is currently looking at the legal implications of giving secretaries of state the power to fire departmental perm secs and also wants to remove statutory barriers to direct appointments into the senior civil service.
It wants secretaries of state to be able to appoint a chief of staff and a permanent secretary, with the approval of the prime minister.
Quangos ‘face axe’
Departments are currently responsible for hundreds of agencies, quangos and arm’s-length bodies. Fixing the Centre says ”the great majority of quangos and agencies” will either be brought back in-house or scrapped.
“This will bring the real experts into government; make them meaningfully accountable to ministers and thus to parliament and the public; and ensure their issue-specific advice is considered alongside other, competing priorities,” the paper says.
Government People Group to be ‘refocused’
As part of its plans, Reform UK says that HR functions would be returned to departments and the Government People Group – which currently sits within the Cabinet Office – would be “radically slimmed down and entirely repurposed”. It says the group would sit within DCS and shift its focus onto “elite talent acquisition”.
Fixing the Centre also says that the civil service’s Fast Stream programme for future leaders would be de-centralised, with individual departments managing their own recruitment schemes and “competing for talent”. The document concedes that the Fast Stream brand might be retained, however.
Kruger said the plans set out in Fixing the Centre will be part of an “emergency reset” following the next general election if Reform UK wins power.
“A Reform government would take the development of the civil service seriously,” he said. “While we will need to scramble a large number of experts and allies to assist with the ‘emergency reset’ of Britain immediately after the general election, our aim is to build a better state for the long-term.
“The benefits of a high-performing DCS will not be felt for some years. We need to make the state fit for the crises which we cannot predict, but which are coming.”
‘Recipe for organisational chaos’
Mike Clancy, general secretary of the Prospect union, said it was ironic that a party that bills itself as being “on the side of working people” had produced a scheme to cut jobs and replace public servants with AI.
“This plan is a recipe for organisational chaos, more management consultancy and a clear sign that Reform simply do not understand how government actually works,” he said.
“Our members will serve the government of the day, and are not opposed to change, but we will always defend civil servants against attacks on their livelihoods.”
Clancy said Reform UK had made clear that it does not support the Employment Rights Act 2025, meaning the party is “no friend to working people who need a restored voice at work”.
‘Rehash, not radical’
Dave Penman, general secretary of the FDA union – which represents civil service leaders – said the proposals set out in Fixing the Centre were “a rehash, not radical”.
“Renaming departments is hardly a novel concept and doesn’t represent real change,” he said. “Kruger is not the first to propose more political appointees in the civil service, but this will just lead to greater churn and turmoil when ministers change, which is becoming increasingly common.
“We’ve had six different foreign secretaries over the past six years. Can you imagine if swathes of politically appointed FCDO staff had to be moved out and brought in each time?
“Everyone is claiming AI is the answer. Its adoption, if done correctly, can surely deliver some benefits but it is not a panacea. The idea that at least half of so-called ‘back-office professions’ can be cut with no detrimental impact on services is just not credible.”
‘Threat to civil service impartiality’
Fran Heathcote, general secretary of PCS – the civil service’s biggest union – said the Reform UK proposals raise “serious questions” about the future of public services and the independence of the civil service.
“The headline pledge is large-scale job cuts. After years of understaffing, rising workloads and real-terms pay cuts, reducing headcount even further will not make government more effective – it will simply leave departments with fewer people to deliver the services the public depend upon,” she said.
“If improving public services is Reform's priority, this is a strange way of showing it. These proposals are indicative of their broader anti-worker agenda.
“Our members are dedicated professionals who serve the public with integrity and impartiality. They deserve respect for the work they do, not to be treated as a problem to be solved. Any proposals that undermine civil service impartiality or make it easier for ministers to hire and fire officials should be treated with extreme caution.”