Story thread · 2 reports / 2 sources

Andy Burnham’s power grab will let unelected civil servants complete their takeover

gbnews.com · 7dShare

Andy Burnham wants to write a new law giving the Cabinet Secretary the power to issue binding orders to Permanent Secretaries across Whitehall. It sounds technical. It isn't. It is one of the most significant transfers of power in modern British Government, and it is happening without a single vote being cast. At present the Cabinet Secretary - currently Dame Antonia Romeo - is both the head of the Civil Service and the Prime Minister’s principal adviser. But she cannot give orders to the Permanent Secretaries who manage the Departments of Government. Only Secretaries of State – the ministers appointed by the elected Prime Minister, themselves Members of Parliament answerable to the public – can give orders to so-called 'Perm Secs'. TRENDING Stories Videos Your Say Not any longer. Andy Burnham is planning a new law that will give the Cabinet Secretary the power, in law, to direct what Perm Secs do. The Civil Service is taking over. Dame Antonia Romeo is not elected. She answers to no c

First report: Queen of the Civil Service: Andy Burnham 'to give top official Antonia Romeo new powers to overrule Whitehall departments' — dailymail.co.uk, 7d