The centrality of Pat McFadden

A powerful 'CDL' is back at the heart of Whitehall. Plus - what is a mission board? Some thoughts on other Cabinet Office moves. And the mystery of why the reshuffle seemed to stall last week.

Pat McFadden - a calmly-spoken, cautious-sounding Wolverhampton MP - is arguably the second most important Cabinet minister in the new Starmer administration.

McFadden worked as a special adviser in Tony Blair’s No 10. He was listed as one of a handful of Downing Street SpAds in November 1997, alongside now (more) famous names such as Jonathan Powell, Al…