Darren Jones and Dan Tomlinson are extremely YIMBY for those unaware.
> Sir Keir Starmer has announced a major shake-up of his Downing Street organisation as the UK prime minister attempts to get a grip on his government and arrest a slide in Labour’s poll ratings. Darren Jones, the Treasury chief secretary, will move to a new role in Number 10 in charge of “driving forward progress in key policy areas and reporting directly to the prime minister”, Downing Street said on Monday. Downing Street also confirmed that Starmer was beefing up Number 10’s economic heft with the appointment of Baroness Minouche Shafik, former deputy governor of the Bank of England, as his chief economic adviser.
> The Conservatives claimed the appointment of Jones and Shafik was a sign of Starmer creating a parallel economic power base in Number 10 and a loss of confidence in chancellor Rachel Reeves. “A stronger prime minister would have gone the whole hog and fired her, not just created his own shadow chancellor,” said Andrew Griffith, shadow business secretary. Reeves’ allies insisted the chancellor welcomed and had advocated the creation of a stronger economic team in Number 10, including the transfer of Jones. “It’s important that Number 10 has a strong economic voice just as it already does on foreign policy,” said one ally of Reeves. “This pushes the economic message across government and helps us do our job.”
> Meanwhile, Tim Allan, a former media adviser to Sir Tony Blair during his first term in office and founder of the Portland communications agency, has been hired to overhaul Starmer’s media operation. Starmer’s shake-up came as MPs returned to the House of Commons from their summer break, with the prime minister’s popularity languishing and Labour’s standing in the polls at just 20 per cent. Ministers are also preparing for a crucial Budget this autumn. The prime minister said the changes would “make Number 10 more powerful” and told the BBC that he shared voters’ frustration with the slow pace of change being implemented by his government.
> “I’m frustrated — I share the frustration and anger of voters,” he said. “They want change.” He said his government had spent the first year in office “fixing the foundations” and was now moving to “a delivery phase”. Starmer added that he would definitely lead Labour into the next general election, which must take place by 2029, talking of a “decade of renewal”.
> The appointment of Jones to the new role of “chief secretary to the prime minister” reflects Starmer’s acceptance that he needs to get a tighter grip on his government. Jones had previously been charged at the Treasury with the politically sensitive task of negotiating a cross-Whitehall spending review, which was deemed by Starmer to have been well handled. “Keir thought about this over the summer,” said one ally of the prime minister. “He decided these were the right changes to bolster the operation and drive delivery across government from Number 10.”Jones, a former solicitor, will be seen as Starmer’s “enforcer”. Pat McFadden, Cabinet Office minister, who had previously performed some of that role, was said by his allies to be taking on “a greater role overseeing political strategy”.
> The appointment of Allan, who worked alongside Alastair Campbell in Blair’s media operation, is a sign that Starmer also wants to see a sharper communications effort in Number 10. Allan, who sold a majority stake in Portland to media marketing company Omnicom in 2012, represents a further move by Starmer to bring into his inner circle people associated with the last Labour government. Starmer has already brought back New Labour-era veterans Jonathan Powell as national security adviser and Lord Peter Mandelson as US ambassador. Allan will become Starmer’s executive director of communications based in Number 10 alongside Steph Driver, director of communications. James Lyons, current director of communications (strategy), is leaving Number 10 after less than a year in the post, as is Liz Lloyd, brought in by Starmer last year as his director of policy delivery last November.
> The departures of Lyons and Lloyd just months into their jobs will raise questions about Starmer’s judgment in making appointments — or perhaps whether the problem may actually lie with the prime minister himself. Starmer axed Sue Gray, his first Number 10 chief of staff, last year, while Matthew Doyle, the prime minister’s first communications director, also left his post within a year of Labour’s 2024 election win.
> At the Treasury, Jones will be replaced as Reeves’ deputy by James Murray, currently exchequer secretary. Murray will, in turn, be replaced by Dan Tomlinson, who was elected to parliament at the general election last year. Dan York-Smith, a respected Treasury official who has overseen tax and welfare policy at the finance ministry, will become Starmer’s principal private secretary. The principal private secretary is a gatekeeper for the prime minister, organises their diary and controls information flows to them. Separately, the Treasury said Reeves had appointed John Van Reenen, a professor at the London School of Economics, as growth adviser.
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Darren Jones and Dan Tomlinson are extremely YIMBY for those unaware.
> Sir Keir Starmer has announced a major shake-up of his Downing Street organisation as the UK prime minister attempts to get a grip on his government and arrest a slide in Labour’s poll ratings. Darren Jones, the Treasury chief secretary, will move to a new role in Number 10 in charge of “driving forward progress in key policy areas and reporting directly to the prime minister”, Downing Street said on Monday. Downing Street also confirmed that Starmer was beefing up Number 10’s economic heft with the appointment of Baroness Minouche Shafik, former deputy governor of the Bank of England, as his chief economic adviser.
> The Conservatives claimed the appointment of Jones and Shafik was a sign of Starmer creating a parallel economic power base in Number 10 and a loss of confidence in chancellor Rachel Reeves. “A stronger prime minister would have gone the whole hog and fired her, not just created his own shadow chancellor,” said Andrew Griffith, shadow business secretary. Reeves’ allies insisted the chancellor welcomed and had advocated the creation of a stronger economic team in Number 10, including the transfer of Jones. “It’s important that Number 10 has a strong economic voice just as it already does on foreign policy,” said one ally of Reeves. “This pushes the economic message across government and helps us do our job.”
> Meanwhile, Tim Allan, a former media adviser to Sir Tony Blair during his first term in office and founder of the Portland communications agency, has been hired to overhaul Starmer’s media operation. Starmer’s shake-up came as MPs returned to the House of Commons from their summer break, with the prime minister’s popularity languishing and Labour’s standing in the polls at just 20 per cent. Ministers are also preparing for a crucial Budget this autumn. The prime minister said the changes would “make Number 10 more powerful” and told the BBC that he shared voters’ frustration with the slow pace of change being implemented by his government.
> “I’m frustrated — I share the frustration and anger of voters,” he said. “They want change.” He said his government had spent the first year in office “fixing the foundations” and was now moving to “a delivery phase”. Starmer added that he would definitely lead Labour into the next general election, which must take place by 2029, talking of a “decade of renewal”.
> The appointment of Jones to the new role of “chief secretary to the prime minister” reflects Starmer’s acceptance that he needs to get a tighter grip on his government. Jones had previously been charged at the Treasury with the politically sensitive task of negotiating a cross-Whitehall spending review, which was deemed by Starmer to have been well handled. “Keir thought about this over the summer,” said one ally of the prime minister. “He decided these were the right changes to bolster the operation and drive delivery across government from Number 10.”Jones, a former solicitor, will be seen as Starmer’s “enforcer”. Pat McFadden, Cabinet Office minister, who had previously performed some of that role, was said by his allies to be taking on “a greater role overseeing political strategy”.
> The appointment of Allan, who worked alongside Alastair Campbell in Blair’s media operation, is a sign that Starmer also wants to see a sharper communications effort in Number 10. Allan, who sold a majority stake in Portland to media marketing company Omnicom in 2012, represents a further move by Starmer to bring into his inner circle people associated with the last Labour government. Starmer has already brought back New Labour-era veterans Jonathan Powell as national security adviser and Lord Peter Mandelson as US ambassador. Allan will become Starmer’s executive director of communications based in Number 10 alongside Steph Driver, director of communications. James Lyons, current director of communications (strategy), is leaving Number 10 after less than a year in the post, as is Liz Lloyd, brought in by Starmer last year as his director of policy delivery last November.
> The departures of Lyons and Lloyd just months into their jobs will raise questions about Starmer’s judgment in making appointments — or perhaps whether the problem may actually lie with the prime minister himself. Starmer axed Sue Gray, his first Number 10 chief of staff, last year, while Matthew Doyle, the prime minister’s first communications director, also left his post within a year of Labour’s 2024 election win.
> At the Treasury, Jones will be replaced as Reeves’ deputy by James Murray, currently exchequer secretary. Murray will, in turn, be replaced by Dan Tomlinson, who was elected to parliament at the general election last year. Dan York-Smith, a respected Treasury official who has overseen tax and welfare policy at the finance ministry, will become Starmer’s principal private secretary. The principal private secretary is a gatekeeper for the prime minister, organises their diary and controls information flows to them. Separately, the Treasury said Reeves had appointed John Van Reenen, a professor at the London School of Economics, as growth adviser.