Sir Keir Starmer must work to “immediately rebuild trust” with the civil service after using “Trumpian” language to describe them, the head of a union representing senior civil servants has said.
In a letter to the Prime Minister, FDA general secretary Dave Penman said civil servants had faced a difficult 15 years serving governments through austerity, the pandemic and the war in Ukraine.
Sir Keir’s wide-ranging Plan for Change speech on Thursday saw the Prime Minister set out six measurable “milestones” against which the public could judge his Government’s performance.
During the address, he claimed too many people in Whitehall are “comfortable in the tepid bath of managed decline”, though he insisted he did not think there was a “swamp to be drained here”.
Mr Penman described this language as “so disappointing” and said FDA members are as “impatient for change” as ministers.
If you want to successfully deliver your Plan for Change, you must work to immediately rebuild trust with the civil servants who will be tasked with implementing it
The union chief added: “Invoking the Trumpian language of ‘draining the swamp’, qualifying it, but then going on to say that ‘too many people in Whitehall are comfortable in the tepid bath of managed decline’ is, I fear, far more damaging than you had considered when you chose those words.”
He continued: “Governing is a joint enterprise between civil servants and ministers. If it is to succeed, then it needs to be a strong partnership based on trust. I would therefore urge you to urgently reflect on the impact your speech yesterday has had on that relationship.
“If you want to successfully deliver your Plan for Change, you must work to immediately rebuild trust with the civil servants who will be tasked with implementing it.”
The FDA was not the only civil service union to criticise the Prime Minister’s use of language.
Fran Heathcote, general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union, said: “One of the reasons trust in politics is so low is because of politicians’ refusal to be accountable for anything. It’s always someone else’s fault.
“To blame civil servants, who every day work above and beyond to keep the country running, for failing to deliver reform is inaccurate and, worse, cowardly. Accusing people who can’t answer back. Our members want the best for this country and will continue to work hard to deliver that.”
A No 10 spokesman said he would not characterise the language used by Sir Keir as Trumpian.
“The Prime Minister is setting the direction and pace that the British people expect from this Government,” he added.
