Starmer's Downing Street Shakeup

Sue Gray's departure was widely expected to come by the end of the year, but the appointment of Nin Pandit as Principal Private Secretary has turned heads in Whitehall. It seems a rushed decision.

The new Labour Government promised to bring stability. That is not going well.

Within less than 100 days, Keir Starmer has had to replace his choice as Chief of Staff. For a Prime Minister who entered Government from Opposition, that’s quite extraordinary. Tony Blair and David Cameron’s Chiefs of Staff lasted their entire time in office - with Jonathan Powell serving a decade, and Ed Llewellyn six years.

Given the degree of chaos at the top of Downing Street, and the fact that Sue Gray had become ‘a story’, Whitehall had started to expect that she would depart by Christmas. So while her exit won’t come as a shock, the ruthlessness of Starmer’s sacking will have surprised some - and sent a signal.

But what has really turned heads in Whitehall is his choice of the new PPS or Principal Private Secretary (the Civil Service head of Downing Street, or ‘Bernard’ in the series Yes, Minister). That PPS role was filled without any competition, and awarded to an individual who - while able and talented - has relatively little Government experience, and is believed currently to be on secondment from the NHS.