The Labour government’s recent treatment of the most senior civil servants is comparable to “the worst days” of the Boris Johnson era, FDA general secretary Dave Penman has warned.
In a speech at the union for senior civil servants’ annual conference this morning, Penman reflected on the sackings of the heads of the civil service and diplomatic service this year and said Starmer’s actions will “leave an indelible mark on the most senior leaders in the civil service”.
“In February, after months of briefings against the then-cabinet secretary Chris Wormald, his removal from office was briefed to the press while he sat at his desk. Barely 12 months after being appointed the inevitable happened,” Penman said.
“I said at the time, if the cabinet secretary can be undermined and removed like that by the prime minister, then no one is safe. I didn’t realise at the time that I was in the fortune telling business.
“In April, four hours after a story hits the guardian website, No.10 are briefing that the permanent under-secretary at the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office has lost the confidence of the prime minister. In subsequent briefings and publications the characterisation that the government were keen to promote – of a failed vetting overturned by FCDO was not only factually incorrect, but also a deliberate attempt to cast doubt over that decision. Suddenly, the Mandelson appointment became a question of Sir Olly Robbins judgement, rather than that of the prime minister.”
Peman said Robbins’ subsequent evidence session in front of the Foreign Affairs Committee the following week “laid all of this bare”.
“He remained accountable for his decisions and fiercely defended the values and system that helps keep our country and citizens safe, at home and abroad, his evidence to the committee showed a committed, passionate public servant,” Penman said. “The contrast with the spectacle of the previous day in the House of Commons could not be more stark.”
Penman also noted Starmer’s message to civil servants last week, in which the PM expressed “the vital importance of the partnership between politicians and officials” and stated that he values civil servants “speaking truth to power”.
“As you can imagine, there was quite a response to those words,” Penman said. “It is the prime minister’s actions, not his words, that will leave an indelible mark on the most senior leaders in the civil service. Who now will feel they will not be thrown under the bus if it serves a narrow political objective?”
“What is so disappointing,” Penman added, “is that we have been here before. Many in this government may smart at being compared the worst days of the Johnson era, but I’m sorry to tell them that the cap fits. This government and this prime minister – a former senior civil servant – promised to be different. Plausible deniability on briefings against civil servants is utterly meaningless when its obvious to everyone, even as the old saying goes, the dogs in the street, that they emanate from No.10.”
Penman said the government is in a hurry to deliver and is urging civil servants to be risk takers, but “should understand that governing is a joint enterprise”.
“Risks will only be taken if the risk is shared,” the civil service union boss said. “Trust is required for good, effective, and agile government. But I’m afraid that trust is in short supply.”
However, Penman said the situation "is of course recoverable".
"Ironically, what became clear through the evidence sessions over the Mandelson affair, was a civil service, delivering exactly what the prime minister wanted, at extraordinary pace," he said.
“That’s what civil servants want to do. That’s why everyone in this room has chosen to be a civil servant. To serve the public and the elected government of the day, whatever their political colour and, as is being demonstrated in Wales as we speak, helping to prepare for the first transition between governments. All for the public good. An impartial, permanent civil service, providing the best evidence-based advice and then delivering when ministers decide.
“So to this government, and any future one, I say that harnessing the incredible talent, energy, experience and expertise of the civil service should be easy, not difficult. It requires exactly what the prime minister said in his message, 'a partnership built on trust'."