Iain Martin has a great story in his column today about how the coalition is so frustrated with the civil service that it is considering sacking a bunch of permanent secretaries and replacing them with outsiders. This move would take the coalition’s battles with the civil service onto a whole new plane.
Talking to ministers both in this government and the last one and many civil servants, there’s no doubt that large chunks of the civil service are no longer fit for purpose. But I’d be surprised, and impressed, if the coalition did follow through with this plan. Open warfare with the people who know where all the secrets are hid is not an appealing prospect for any government.
Instead, I suspect that the coalition will continue to rely ever-more on its work arounds. Jeremy Heywood, David Cameron’s favourite civil servant, will have a lot of work to do in the coming months.
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