Chris Wormald has stepped down as cabinet secretary. He has left the role after little more than a year by mutual agreement with the Prime Minister.
On Thursday afternoon, Wormald’s departure was confirmed by the government in a statement. Wormald said: “It has been an honour and a privilege to serve as a civil servant for the past 35 years, and a particular distinction to leave the Service as Cabinet Secretary.” In the same statement, Keir Starmer added: “I am very grateful to Sir Chris for his long and distinguished career of public service… I have agreed with him that he will step down as Cabinet Secretary today. I wish him the very best for the future.”
Speculation had been building this week that Wormald would announce his departure imminently. However, at a briefing for journalists after PMQs on Wednesday, government sources refused to confirm whether or not this was the case.
The Prime Minister is under pressure from female members of his party to tackle allegations of a “boys’ club” at the heart of government. At a meeting of the Women’s Parliamentary Labour Party on Wednesday, the Labour grandee Harriet Harman, urged Starmer to appoint a woman to the position of First Secretary of State to “tackle misogyny in public life”.
It has been suggested that Antonia Romeo, the permanent secretary at the Home Office, is the government’s preferred candidate to replace Wormald. (One Labour MP described Romeo as “brilliant” to the New Statesman earlier this week.) However, a permanent successor has not been confirmed. According to the government’s statement, Wormald’s responsibilities will be shared in the interim by Romeo, Cat Little, the permanent secretary at the Cabinet Office and James Bowler, the permanent secretary of the Treasury. This is not the first time that more that multiple people have been appointed to the role in an acting capacity; this occurred during Simon Case’s medical leave of absence in 2023.
Wormald’s departure means Starmer currently does not have a permanent chief of staff, director of communications or cabinet secretary. Morgan McSweeney and Tim Allan both resigned from No.10 earlier this week. Vidhya Alakeson and Jill Cuthbertson have been appointed as joint acting replacements for McSweeney.
After a turbulent week – in which Starmer’s own position looked to be under threat – Labour MPs are waiting cautiously for the results of this shake-up at No.10. One MP told the New Statesman the government needs a “clean slate”. All eyes will now be on the search for Wormald’s successor.
[Further reading: How Labour fell in love with Dominic Cummings]
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