A union boss has accused the prime minister of using “Trumpian language” in his criticism of the civil service.
In a speech setting out his priorities for government on Thursday, Sir Keir Starmer 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.”
Some senior government sources have told the BBC that Labour has been disappointed by the quality of the civil service since taking office in July.
But Mr Penman said that to achieve the government’s aims and reform public services “you need to bring [civil servants] with you”.
“Cabinet ministers are going to have to deliver on the ground and they’re going to have to work with civil servants and they’re going to have to repair the damage that’s been done by the prime minister’s words,” he added.
Mr Penman acknowledged Whitehall could be slow to get things done, and civil servants were also “frustrated” about this.
However, he said productivity had declined for many reasons, including a high turnover of ministers.
In his speech, Sir Keir set out six targets the government is aiming to meet before the next election, covering the economy, housebuilding, the NHS, policing, pre-school education and green energy.
As well as being designed to offer more clarity about the direction of his government, the speech had a secondary aim of galvanising the civil service.
The PM said the plan would “land on desks around Whitehall with the heavy thud of a gauntlet being thrown down”.
Donald Trump swept to victory in the US elections with a promise to reshape the government and dismantle what he calls the “deep state” in Washington DC.
The president-elect has talked in the past of “draining the swamp”, in his plans to cut bureaucracy and spending.
Sir Keir echoed the phrase in his speech, saying “I don’t think there is a swamp to be drained here” but he did make clear his frustration with the efficiency of civil servants tasked with putting his government’s polices into action.
Asked about the criticism of the PM’s comments, Cabinet Office Minister Ellie Reeves said she had worked with “some fantastic civil servants” but “we need to be doing thing differently”.
“These are hugely ambitious targets and we need to be able to rise to that challenge,” she told Newsnight.
“It’s not about smashing the machine, it’s about making sure that in government we are delivering for all parts of the country.”
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