Sir Keir Starmer will tear up the ‘unwieldy’ system of Cabinet government if he becomes PM and rely on a ‘quad’ of top ministers to take key decisions, it has been claimed.
It has been reported how Sir Keir, shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves, deputy leader Angela Rayner and party ‘enforcer’ Pat McFadden will form a powerful new executive in a Labour government.
According to The Times, Sir Keir’s team are also drawing up plans to create new ‘mission boards’ to deliver his five main pledges on the economy, NHS, clean energy, crime and schools.
And the Labour leader will create a powerful new policy delivery unit, reporting directly to him, with a senior business figure poised to run it, the newspaper added.
Sir Keir, Ms Reeves, Ms Rayner and Mr McFadden – who is set to become Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if Labour win power – have been dubbed the ‘gang of four’.
Sir Keir Starmer will tear up the ‘unwieldy’ system of Cabinet government if he becomes PM and rely on a ‘quad’ of top ministers to take key decisions, it has been claimed
It has been reported how Sir Keir, shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves (right), and deputy leader Angela Rayner (left) will make key choices ahead of meetings of the whole Cabinet
Pat McFadden, who is set to become Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if Labour win power, has been dubbed Sir Keir’s ‘enforcer’
Their purported role in a future Labour administration will draw comparisons with the powerful ‘quad’ that ran the Tory-Liberal Democrat coalition between 2010 to 2015.
That key body was made up of PM David Cameron, chancellor George Osborne, deputy PM Nick Clegg, and top Treasury minister Danny Alexander.
Former Labour PM Sir Tony Blair was also known for his ‘sofa government’ in No10, where key ministers and advisers took decisions before getting them rubber-stamped by the whole Cabinet.
It is claimed Sir Keir will similarly use his own quartet to make key choices ahead of meetings of the whole Cabinet, which he views as being too unwieldy to have proper policy debates.
A source close to Sir Keir played down the likely power of the quad of top Labour figures, but confirmed the Labour leader was keen to create ‘mission boards’ to deliver his key pledges.
If he becomes PM, Sir Keir has promised to secure the highest sustained growth in the G7, build an NHS ‘fit for the future’, ‘make Britain’s streets safe’, ‘break down the barriers to opportunity at every stage’, and ‘make Britain a clean energy superpower’.
The creation of ‘mission boards’ could see outside experts and business leaders join civil servants and ministers in being involved in directly devising policy, it was reported.
A senior Labour source told The Times that Sir Keir and his chief of staff, former top Whitehall official Sue Gray, wanted to implement reforms rapidly but were keen to be seen as working with the civil service rather than against it.
‘This is not the same as coming in like Steve Hilton or Dominic Cummings pledging to tear everything up,’ they told the newspaper, in reference to top advisers under previous Tory administrations.
‘The plans may end up being quite radical but the focus will be on creating structures that deliver the outcomes you want rather than doing things for the sake of.’
