Keir Starmer’s Choice: Who Could Replace Simon Case as Top UK Civil Servant

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(Bloomberg) — Prime Minister Keir Starmer faces a key decision in coming months over who he’ll appoint as cabinet secretary, the UK’s top civil servant who plays a crucial role in how the country is run.

The incumbent, Simon Case, on Monday wrote to civil staff informing them that he would step down at the end of the year on health grounds, creating a vacancy for the most important job in the UK civil service.

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The successful candidate will be charged with restoring order to a divided and, some say, dysfunctional operation at 10 Downing Street and helping delivering on the new Labour’s government’s priorities in a difficult economic climate.  

One person often touted as a contender — former John Lewis Partnership Plc Chairman Sharon White, will sit on the the interview panel, suggesting she’s not in the running. Here’s a list of runners and riders:

Olly Robbins

Robbins, 49, is perhaps best known publicly for leading Brexit negotiations with the EU under former Prime Minister Theresa May, culminating in a deal that was rejected by parliament in a turbulent period in British politics. He has wide experience across the civil service, spanning Downing Street, the Treasury and the Home Office, and is seen as the favorite of Sue Gray, the prime minister’s chief of staff, herself a former civil servant. 

However, the cabinet secretary has never been a woman, making the appointment of another White man to the position less likely in a field containing several strong female candidates.

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Last year Robbins moved to Hakluyt & Co., a consultancy firm founded by former MI6 agents. If appointed cabinet secretary, he would join another former Hakluyt employee at the heart of Downing Street: Bloomberg recently reported that Varun Chandra, the prime minister’s business adviser, has retained his stake in his former company. 

Antonia Romeo

One of the most colorful prospective candidates, the 49-year-old Romeo is currently permanent secretary at the Ministry of Justice, after coming close to being appointed the Treasury’s top civil servant under 7-week premier Liz Truss. A former consul-general in New York, she hosted glamorous parties with celebrities like Vogue editor Anna Wintour and actor Joanna Lumley and gave an interview to the Times – complete with photo shoot – on her departure from the role. Seen as a self-promoter even by her allies, she is well connected and experienced, and championed civil service staff during a bullying row with former justice secretary Dominic Raab.

Melanie Dawes

Dawes, 58, is chief executive of Ofcom, the UK’s media regulator, after a wide-ranging civil service career including 15 years at the Treasury and a stint in charge at the then Department for Communities and Local Government during the time of the Grenfell fire. She told Times Radio on Tuesday she is “at the moment, 100% focused on Ofcom” when asked if she would like the top civil service job. 

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Minouche Shafik

An experienced economist and prominent figure in British public life, Egyptian-born Shafik, 62, recently stepped down as president of Columbia University following controversy over Gaza sit-ins on campus. She was previously a deputy governor at the Bank of England, and vice chancellor of the London School of Economics, as well as permanent secretary of the Department for International Development, giving her the requisite civil service experience to apply for the role. 

Others

Other names in the mix include Tamara Finkelstein, an career civil servant currently in charge at the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Jeremy Pocklington, permanent secretary in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, and Stephen Lovegrove, a former National Security Adviser who was also once the top civil servant at the Ministry of Defence. 

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