While Sir Keir Starmer and his new Labour government are still settling in, the mood of civil servants has shifted almost overnight. I’m sure many civil servants would agree that morale was low in the run up to the election. We were being criticised by the media and scapegoated by the government, and we watched on as one ludicrous policy after another was announced that we were expected to start working to implement. But with a new government comes new hope.
Although civil servants are required to be politically impartial, in recent months there was a clear sense that many had lost conviction in their work and few believed in the increasingly ridiculous policies they were working on. Add to that the ongoing negative discourse around civil servants, which was only fuelled by the previous government, and we were ready for a change – whether we were allowed to say that or not.
Off to a good start
From 5 July something did change. Nothing was said, yet we all knew something was different, there was an energy in the air. Was it relief? Excitement? Hope? I couldn’t say – but the difference was palpable.
Arriving at work that morning, there seemed to be a collective sense that whatever happened next, it had to be better than what had gone before. And we were right – the new government and its ministers have wasted no time in getting to work.
Starmer worked over the weekend to assemble the country’s most representative cabinet yet and ministerial appointments to various departments followed shortly after. The new secretaries of state and their ministerial teams took the time last week to speak to the civil servants now working for them – with some even speaking of their desire to learn from us about their areas of responsibility.
Many staff in my department were pleased to see a cabinet and ministerial team that brought with them an existing level of specialist knowledge, and who better reflected the range of backgrounds that make up our organisation and our country. It’s a welcome change to the assortment of privileged, privately educated ministers we were used to serving under the previous government.
Supporting the civil service
On Monday, the new prime minister spoke directly to civil servants, acknowledging our hard work and assuring us that we have his confidence, support and respect. He ended his message by saying that “together, by working as one team, we can deliver our mission of national renewal and change”. What a difference a day makes.
Only time will tell if this new government can deliver the change it has promised, but the change for civil servants has already happened. We feel seen, we feel valued and we’re ready to get to work.
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