Sir Keir Starmer starts the recruitment for a new cabinet secretary following the departure of the top civil servant after 14 months, with interim officials covering duties and questions raised about succession and payouts.
The UK government is navigating an unexpected shake-up after Sir Chris Wormald, who served about 14 months as cabinet secretary, departed “by mutual agreement.” Downing Street described the exit as amicable but offered few specifics about the conversations behind it.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has opened a formal search for a successor as a broader reshuffle at Number 10 continues to ripple through Whitehall.
For now, the day-to-day duties once handled by Wormald have been parceled out to three permanent secretaries: Cat Little, James Bowler and Dame Antonia Romeo.
That split is meant to keep the machinery of government moving, but it also creates an unmistakable vacuum at the centre. There’s no permanent communications director, and two interim chiefs of staff are juggling the prime minister’s senior operational responsibilities.
The result is continuity with caveats — things keep functioning, but not necessarily as smoothly or as transparently as before.
Shared leadership often buys time and prevents an immediate breakdown. Yet anyone who’s led a large organisation knows divided authority can blur accountability and slow decisions that depend on a single point of command. Expect higher coordination costs, more frequent escalation, and the need for tighter oversight while this temporary arrangement holds.
The hunt for a new cabinet secretary is under close scrutiny. Ministers describe the current redistribution of duties as a stopgap while they weigh longer-term options. Opposition MPs, meanwhile, argue that the turnover at the top undermines confidence in the government’s ability to coordinate policy. Government spokespeople counter that seasoned civil servants remain in place and that established procedures still guide decision-making.
Legal and governance experts are urging a recruitment process that’s open and meritocratic — complete with thorough financial, security and reference checks. Observers will be watching whether the government runs an open competition, limits the search to internal candidates, or simply formalises the current division of responsibilities. That choice will shape how effectively Whitehall can marshal ministers and deliver policy at pace.
Vetting has become an especially touchy subject. Calls for rigorous, visible checks reflect anxiety about perceived shortcuts in past senior appointments. Dame Antonia Romeo’s case has intensified the debate: a Cabinet Office inquiry cleared earlier workplace complaints from her time as consul-general in New York, but critics are pressing for greater transparency when senior roles are filled.
How extensive the vetting turns out to be will also affect timing. A narrow procedural review could allow a relatively quick handover; a deep, forensic inquiry will take longer and might delay a permanent appointment. Legal advisers are balancing the robustness of earlier investigations against the risk of renewed complaints or judicial challenge. For now, managing collective decision-making across departments — while ensuring any new cabinet secretary can withstand public and parliamentary scrutiny — is the immediate priority.
On the ground, the interim model has practical consequences. Splitting the cabinet secretary’s functions helps preserve institutional memory, but there’s no single visible official who can rapidly own cross-cutting decisions and public messaging. That ambiguity is compounded by the lack of a permanent communications director and reliance on temporary chiefs of staff, making it harder for ministers and external partners to identify who’s accountable in a crisis.
Operationally, questions are pressing: who signs off on urgent, multi-department actions? How are competing priorities arbitrated when no single figure has the final say? Experience from both public and private sectors suggests clear escalation routes and a named decision-maker are critical for resilience. Whitehall-watchers expect the interim setup to be short-lived, but its duration will influence staff morale and partner confidence.
Political reactions are predictable but telling. The opposition frames the temporary structure as a governance risk that could hamper timely, coordinated advice to ministers. The government stresses continuity and steady stewardship from permanent secretaries. Beyond partisan point-scoring, the wider debate touches on civil service independence and institutional stability — issues that matter far beyond the fate of any one post.
For now, the day-to-day duties once handled by Wormald have been parceled out to three permanent secretaries: Cat Little, James Bowler and Dame Antonia Romeo. That split is meant to keep the machinery of government moving, but it also creates an unmistakable vacuum at the centre. There’s no permanent communications director, and two interim chiefs of staff are juggling the prime minister’s senior operational responsibilities. The result is continuity with caveats — things keep functioning, but not necessarily as smoothly or as transparently as before.0
