Sir Keir Starmer has insisted many civil servants want change, after he was accused of using “Trumpian language” in his criticism of Whitehall. In a speech setting out his priorities for government, the prime minister said “too many people in Whitehall are comfortable in the tepid bath of managed decline”. Dave Penman, general secretary of the FDA union, which represents senior civil servants, said the PM’s comments were “astonishing” and “really damaging”. He told BBC Newsnight civil servants “feel a sense of betrayal”. “In the early days of this government, ministers were walking around departments saying, ‘we’re not going to be like the previous administration, we’ve got your back’,” he said. “And yet here we are five months in with that Trumpian language that is getting used.” Asked if it was wise to pick a fight with the civil service, Sir Keir told reporters: “I’ve worked with civil servants when I was the chief prosecutor and obviously [I’m] working with them again now and I know that they bring a strong sense of public service to everything that they do. But at the same time I also know that we’ve got to press through reform, we’ve got to deliver government in a better way.”
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