Sir Keir Starmer has announced a shake-up of his team in Downing Street as he seeks to reset his premiership after a difficult first year in office. Darren Jones, who was serving as the chief secretary to the Treasury, has been moved to Number 10 to oversee the day-to-day delivery of the prime minister’s priorities.
Politics latest: Starmer begins Downing Street reshuffle
It is a new senior role in which he will work across government to "drive forward progress in key policy areas," Downing Street said. His official title is chief secretary to the prime minister, and he will respond directly to the PM. Mr Jones has long been seen as a rising star of the Labour Party. He was elected as the Bristol North-West MP in 2017 and rose to prominence a few years later as chair of the business select committee, when he made a name for himself holding business leaders to account. He has previously described Tony Blair as his political hero and is understood to have privately urged the government to be more radical.
James Murray, who was the exchequer secretary, has been promoted to Mr Jones’s former role – essentially the deputy to Chancellor Rachel Reeves.
Dan Tomlinson, a new MP from the 2024 intake who was the government’s "growth mission champion," will replace Mr Murray. Downing Street said the shake-up is intended to "bolster" its operations to mark a new term in parliament, promising a "ramping up" of delivering on the government’s "Plan for Change." Economist Baroness Minouche Shafik will also take on a new senior role in Downing Street, as chief economic adviser. Tim Allan, a former adviser to Tony Blair, has been appointed as the government’s Executive Director of Communications and will work with existing director of communications, Steph Driver. James Lyons, who had been director of strategic communications within No 10, has left his role after a year. As he left, the former print journalist said his role at the heart of government "was never intended as a long haul." In further changes, the prime minister’s Deputy Chief of Staff Vidhya Alakeson will take on the expanded responsibilities of overall oversight of Policy and Delivery within Downing Street. Daniel York-Smith has been appointed as the prime minister’s Principal Private Secretary (PPS), a senior civil servant position.
The role was previously held by Nin Pandit, who departed last week, though she remains in Downing Street and will lead a "newly reformed" delivery team, the spokesperson said. Although many of these names are not well-known public figures, the shake-up is significant as it marks the beginning of a "reset" in government. Labour is languishing behind Reform UK in the polls after a summer marred by negative headlines on immigration and Channel crossings. The government has also faced a backlash on issues such as the cut to winter fuel payment and planned welfare reforms. Labour backbenchers have criticized Number 10 for not engaging with their concerns and having a poor communications strategy. The Tories said the reshuffle shows a "Downing Street in crisis" while Reform UK branded it "desperate."