Sir Keir Starmer this month began formal access talks with the civil service, spurring debate across Whitehall over who the Labor leader might choose as his top mandarin if his party wins the general election.
Cabinet Secretary Simon Case, who returned to the office as part of a “phased return” to work after medical leave, told colleagues he hoped to carry his job through to 2025, when he would serve five years in charge.
“It wouldn’t seem right to immediately change the cabinet secretary if there was a change of government,” a Whitehall official said. “Simon always said he would go in 2023 or 2025, but not immediately after the 2024 election.”
If the Conservatives under Rishi Sunak lost the election, Case’s successor would be chosen by Starmer, who in turn would be advised by his chief of staff, Sue Gray, a veteran former civil servant and Whitehall ethics enforcer.
The Labor leader, who previously headed the Crown Prosecution Service, has a keen interest in how organizations are run, according to colleagues. “For Keir it’s not just about what, but how?” said one.
For this reason Starmer believes the appointment of a cabinet secretary, a crucial decision for any prime minister, is particularly important in a potential new Labor administration, they added.
British prime ministers can unilaterally choose their own cabinet secretary – the senior mandarin tasked with steering the civil service machinery – although some choose to go through a formal process involving interviews.
There are just days left until the start of Whitehall access talks, the usual pre-election process through which Britain’s main opposition party discusses their political priorities with civil servants.
Some of the most qualified people with experience for the position are former Treasury officials who now earn much more in the private sector.
For example, Sir Tom Scholar, the former permanent secretary to the Treasury sacked by Liz Truss during her brief tenure as prime minister, is now president of Nomura’s European operations and friends say he is enjoying his new career.
Starmer’s team declined to comment, not wanting to be seen as pre-empting the outcome of the general election due later this year. The party has maintained a consistent double-digit lead in polls since 2022.
But speculation is growing across Whitehall about possible contenders for the job, which pays Case around £200,000 a year.
Sir Olly Robbins
A former Treasury and national security official before he was given the grueling task of negotiating Britain’s Brexit deal, Robbins has a good relationship with Gray. The pair first met when Robbins was Tony Blair’s principal private secretary from 2006 to 2007 and Gray was investigating the “cash for honours” scandal. He worked at Goldman Sachs after leaving Whitehall in 2019 and now works at consultancy firm Hakluyt. Critics note that he has never headed a major government department.
Mrs. Melanie Dawes
According to the latest figures, former Treasury official Dawes has headed media regulator Ofcom since 2020 on a salary of £324,000 a year. An excellent media performer, she spent 15 years at the Treasury and also headed the Department of Housing and Local Government. In the past, she has also been the civil service’s “champion” for diversity issues.
Mrs. Sharon White
With an impressive CV across the public and private sectors, White is currently chairman of the John Lewis Partnership. Last year she announced she would step down in 2025 and hoped to leave the group “in a more financially secure place” after a difficult period for the retailer. White was the first black permanent secretary to the Treasury and was chief executive of Ofcom from 2015 to 2019.
Jeremy Pocklington
The top civil servant at the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero, Pocklington is considered by fellow officials to be businessman, pragmatist and “a mandarin mandarin”. He was previously the most senior official in the Department for Levelling, Housing and Communities, and also led the Treasury’s Enterprise and Growth unit. “He is highly appreciated, even by the Treasury. Sue she knows him and likes him,” said a well-placed Labor figure.
Antonia Romeo
Permanent secretary at the Ministry of Justice from 2021, Romeo had been chosen by Truss Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng to succeed Scholar at the Treasury in October 2022, before market chaos persuaded him to choose former Treasury deputy James Bowler to seek to stabilize the ship. Romeo’s high media profile privately irritates some colleagues. Romeo was previously permanent secretary of the Department for International Trade.
Peter Schofield
Currently permanent secretary at the Department for Work and Pensions, Schofield also has experience of working in the Treasury and was previously seconded to private equity firm 3i. A more anonymous figure among top officials, his lower profile shows that he has “kept his head down and his nose clean”, according to a colleague.
Schofield recently disclosed a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease, saying he wishes employers would do more to help people with health problems stay in work: “I don’t want people, when they get a diagnosis like the one I have had me, they have a sense that you cannot continue to do a great job.
Sarah Healey
Permanent secretary at the Department of Levelling, Housing and Communities, Healey is seen by colleagues as charismatic, personable and down to earth – a more modern Mandarin style. She was previously the senior official in the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and worked in the Cabinet Office. Labor party insiders are not convinced that would be the recommendation of Starmer’s chief of staff, Gray, who served as Healey’s second-in-command in his current role. The couple didn’t gel easily, according to colleagues.