Report

The next cabinet secretary

Think tank: Institute for Government

Author(s): Alex Thomas

October 28, 2024

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government focuses on the five key priorities for the incoming cabinet secretary.

Cabinet secretary is a unique job. The postholder must be at once totally loyal to the government of the day while representing the continuity of the state beyond any single administration. They must warn against policy decisions that will not work and come up with alternative solutions. They are an upholder of standards for ministers, the civil service and the constitution. But, ultimately, they must doff their cap and do what the prime minister says. And as head of the civil service they must motivate, reassure, inspire and defend the institution while saying little in public and knowing that every internal ‘all-staff email’ will be passed within minutes to an eager journalist.

The outgoing post-holder, Simon Case, has in his four years served four prime ministers, three Conservative and one Labour. It is welcome that the still relatively new Labour government launched an open process to find the best new applicant, and that, after a delayed start before Case formally announced his departure, the timetable is swift. But for jobs like these the formal process is just one part of the story. The demands of the moment, the personalities involved, who sits in the right place and has impressed when the music stops, all affect who gets the nod.

A new cast in No.10, with Sue Gray’s departure and replacement by Morgan McSweeney as the prime minister’s chief of staff, changed the dynamic around the competition before the application deadline had even expired. Some candidates who might not have fancied their chances while Gray was in post might now be more favoured, and vice versa.

This short paper sets out the context for an incoming cabinet secretary, centring on five key priorities they will need to tackle in the job, and explores some of the qualities they will need to succeed.