The wrath of the ‘Blob’: Keir Starmer triggers dangerous war with Whitehall 

LONDON — Keir Starmer has wrecked his relationship with thousands of civil servants working at the heart of the British state and faces a campaign from some who want see him ousted.

Insiders say the atmosphere in government departments is now even worse than under former Conservative premiers Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, both of whom attacked the so-called “blob” of officialdom for thwarting their plans — and lived to regret it.

The erosion of trust between officials and the government’s political leadership will increase Starmer’s isolation at an already perilous time. For months, he has been under intense scrutiny over his decision to appoint disgraced former minister Peter Mandelson as the ambassador to the U.S., and he faces potentially devastating losses for his Labour Party in local and regional elections next month, which could provoke a leadership challenge.

After declaring he was “furious” at “the state” last week, Starmer fired the head of the Foreign Office for apparently not doing enough to stop him appointing Mandelson to the top diplomatic posting. Officials and former top civil servants believe that was grossly unfair, when the real error was Starmer’s decision to choose Mandelson — a known friend of late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein — for the role. 

Allies of the now ex-Foreign Office boss Olly Robbins are rallying to his cause, and want him to be reinstated. According to two people granted anonymity to speak about sensitive matters, some are even coordinating their efforts to discredit the prime minister and — in the most extreme cases — want to help to oust him.

On Tuesday, Robbins gave his own politely devastating version of events in evidence to Parliament’s foreign affairs committee. His allies described his performance as “outstanding,” with Mark Sedwill, a former Cabinet Secretary — the most senior official in the civil service — demanding in a letter to The Times newspaper that Robbins be given his job back. Simon McDonald, who also served as head of the Foreign Office until 2020, agreed, writing in The Guardian. Another former Cabinet Secretary, Gus O’Donnell, called on Starmer to “rebuild some of the trust lost” in recent days. 

“This is now a difficult environment and I think the prime minister needs to do more now to show he values and appreciates what civil servants do,” Peter Ricketts, an ex-national security adviser, told Times Radio on Wednesday. “I think he’s got to go and show that he respects and appreciates civil servants.”

More interventions could follow. Cabinet ministers have also privately voiced concern over the dangers of a breakdown in relations with impartial officials. 

Starmer’s decision to fire Robbins “will cast a long shadow” over the critical relationship between independent officials and the Labour government, said Alex Thomas, a former senior official and now executive director at the Institute for Government think tank in London. “This does feel like a big moment and it will matter.” 

One of us

Unlike in the U.S. system, Britain’s 520,000-strong civil service is largely made up of non-political, permanent officials who serve governments of different colors over many years. They generally remain behind the scenes, implementing the policies of the government of the day. 

When he entered Downing Street in 2024, the Labour Party leader — a former top civil servant himself — promised to reset relations with government officials working in Whitehall after a toxic period under the Conservatives.

Three days into the job of prime minister, Starmer recorded a message to the civil service, drawing on his own experience. In his earlier role as director of public prosecutions, he told his audience, he had seen “how hard you work” and “how much you believe in what you are doing for our country.” 

“From the get-go I want you to know that you have my confidence, my support and, importantly, my respect,” he told them. 

Many civil servants were delighted and relieved that “one of us” was going to be in charge, two senior officials recalled. But now top leaders across Whitehall privately say relations are even more poisonous than they had been at the lowest point in the chaotic Johnson era, the same officials said.

Amid dire poll ratings, many Labour MPs are privately hoping to find a way to replace Starmer as leader. 

They regard next month’s local and regional elections as a key test. If Labour fares as badly as expected, there will be a post-mortem that’s likely to conclude the PM’s handling of the Mandelson saga was to blame, potentially kicking off a leadership challenge. 

At that point, Starmer may lack the friends in Whitehall he needs to help him navigate a way out. Robbins is just the latest in a long line of officials and aides whom Starmer has fired or been unable to retain. That in turn means many of those currently working for him do not feel they need to be loyal. 

Broken trust

With speculation rife that Starmer may not survive for long, many in Whitehall will be tempted to slow-walk his policies and wait for the new leader to take office, insiders said. The increasingly sulfurous atmosphere will make them even less likely to work hard for Starmer’s administration. 

“What this affair has done is just distance him even further from the people he needs on his side, taking risks and busting their guts for him,” one former official said. “For them, this is just another example of how they can’t trust Keir Starmer.”

The crisis in relations will be particularly difficult for the new Cabinet Secretary, Antonia Romeo, who only took up her post in February. Starmer hired her for her “determination to get things done.”

But getting anything done will be harder now that officials don’t trust the politician in charge. As Robbins’ line manager, Romeo will have likely had a role in his dismissal process, and even if she tried to stop the PM firing him, with a politician’s mind made up there would not be much she could do, two people familiar with the matter said.

“Starmer’s relationship with Whitehall has been broken now for over 12 months,” according to the former official quoted above.

“He views the civil service as something he can speak out about for being slow and cautious, where he can fire people when they displease him,” this person added. “Whitehall views him with deep disappointment — unwilling to take decisions, poor at setting direction and selling the government’s program, and someone who dodges responsibility.” 

JoJo Penn, who was deputy chief of staff to Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May, said Starmer took the decision to fire Robbins before he had all the facts. “Firing Olly, when the fundamental mistake was the judgement by the prime minister to appoint Peter Mandelson, despite all the evidence and advice to the contrary, will only make the disconnect between the civil service and ministers and advisers worse,” she told POLITICO. The result will be “less trust and candor in those relationships.”

And that might mean even more secrets being kept from ministers. 

“One question this will have raised for elected politicians is just how much the secret state keeps from them,” another former official said. “Many civil servants believe deeply that they can — and should — carry on with the business of government and there are many things that politicians have no business knowing about.” 

The Blob bites back

Recent British history shows the risks of politicians going to war with Whitehall. 

In 2022, Johnson was eventually forced out of Downing Street after McDonald, a former head of the Foreign Office, effectively accused him of not telling the truth about what he knew about sexual misconduct allegations against one of his ministers. 

Later that year, Truss and her finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng fired the top official in the Treasury because they wanted someone who would be a disrupter to help them rip up the tax system. Within weeks, once their so-called “mini-budget” of unfunded tax cuts spooked the markets, they regretted their decision and filled the vacancy with another Treasury insider. 

In a meeting with his Cabinet this week, Starmer tried to douse the flames. He made clear that while he believed Robbins made a mistake, the civil servant was still a man of “integrity and professionalism,” according to a statement from No.10. “He said that there are thousands of hard-working civil servants across the country who are full of integrity, doing excellent work every day with a profound sense of public duty.” 

But the prime minister’s critics aren’t sure there’s much he can say that will help repair relations. 

“This isn’t really about bringing down Keir Starmer,” the first former official quoted above said. “This is about what needs to be done to fix the relationship between Keir Starmer and officialdom. I don’t think it can be fixed.” 

Dan Bloom, Emilio Casalicchio and Esther Webber contributed reporting.