Sir Chris Wormald is the new cabinet secretary

Keir Starmer has today resolved one of his longstanding headaches: who to appoint to lead the civil service. The man chosen to replace Simon Case as cabinet secretary is Sir Chris Wormald. The 56-year-old has served as permanent secretary of the Department of Health since 2016, leading colleagues throughout the ups and downs of the pandemic. Prior to that, he was permanent secretary at the Department of Education (DfE) from 2012 to 2016. Government is very much in Wormald’s blood: his father Peter served as under secretary in the DHSS from 1978 to 1981.

With 33 years of continuous service in Whitehall, it is clear that the Prime Minister is opting for a ‘greybeard’ over a wildcard. High-profile names floated for the post of cabinet secretary included Antonia Romeo and Olly Robbins but Sir Chris is an appointment in line with the traditional ‘Sir Humphrey’ mould. As the longest-serving perm sec, he has featured among the riders and riders for Whitehall’s top job for more than a year. Deeply committed to the civil service ideal, his appointment will likely be regarded by the mandarin class as a return to normalcy after the unhappy experiment of the Simon Case era. Others are less impressed: Dominic Cummings, who worked with Wormald at DFE and then No. 10, has already launched a lengthy broadside on his record during Covid.

Announcing the appointment, Sir Keir declared that his fellow knight will be be pivotal in working to ‘change the way government serves this country’. He said: ‘From breaking down silos across government to harnessing the incredible potential of technology and innovation, it will require nothing less than the complete rewiring of the British state to deliver bold and ambitious long-term reform.’ Starmer added that there was ‘no-one better placed’ to push through his flagship ‘Plan for Change’ than Sir Chris, ahead of his big ‘reset’ speech on Thursday.

The task that faces the new Cabinet Secretary when he begins work on 16 December is considerable. He will need to rebuild morale in a civil service battered by constant scandals and struggling to shake off the legacy of Covid. Fulfilling Starmer’s goals of ‘mission-led’ government will be a considerable challenge and some may question whether Wormald, as a Whitehall lifer, is best placed to achieve this. Supporters though will point to his work on the Coalition’s school reforms as proof that even a lifelong insider can deliver the radical change which Britain needs.