| Revision as of 02:13, 20 September 2010 edit82.35.235.123 (talk) correct link to incumbent's article← Previous edit | Revision as of 11:32, 26 September 2010 edit undoGhaly (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users7,070 edits →Origin & Role: refNext edit → | ||
| Line 18: | Line 18: | ||
| ==Origin & Role== | ==Origin & Role== | ||
| The position of Chief of Staff in the ] was created by ] upon his becoming prime minister. | The position of Chief of Staff in the ] was created by ] upon his becoming prime minister.<ref> </ref> | ||
| http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3893065.stm | |||
| The chief of staff is an appointed ] or a career civil servant who is personally and politically close to the prime minister. The responsibilities of the post have varied according to the wishes of the sitting prime minister, however the nature of it as a post at the centre of the Downing Street operation ensures it is an influential one closely involved in government policy formulation & implementation, political strategy and communication, and generally advising the prime minister. | The chief of staff is an appointed ] or a career civil servant who is personally and politically close to the prime minister. The responsibilities of the post have varied according to the wishes of the sitting prime minister, however the nature of it as a post at the centre of the Downing Street operation ensures it is an influential one closely involved in government policy formulation & implementation, political strategy and communication, and generally advising the prime minister. | ||
Revision as of 11:32, 26 September 2010
| Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom | |
|---|---|
_(St_Edwards_Crown).svg) | |
| Incumbent Edward Llewellyn since 11 May, 2010 | |
| The Prime Minister's Office | |
| Formation | 1997 |
| First holder | Jonathon Powell |
| Succession | None; Cabinet Rank only |
| Website | 10 Downing Street |
The Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister is a powerful, non-ministerial position within the British Government, appointed by the Prime Minister. The chief of staff is listed as having "direct responsibility for leading and co-ordinating operations across Number 10" and reports directly to the Prime Minister.
Origin & Role
The position of Chief of Staff in the UK was created by Tony Blair upon his becoming prime minister.
The chief of staff is an appointed special advisor or a career civil servant who is personally and politically close to the prime minister. The responsibilities of the post have varied according to the wishes of the sitting prime minister, however the nature of it as a post at the centre of the Downing Street operation ensures it is an influential one closely involved in government policy formulation & implementation, political strategy and communication, and generally advising the prime minister.
Evolution
In 1997 Tony Blair gave his Chief of Staff, a special advisor, 'unprecedented powers' to issue orders to civil servants. Previously the Cabinet Secretary had been the most senior non-ministerial figure in the British Government, and along with the Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister had supported the prime minister in the running of 10 Downing Street: This relationship between the three posts was the basis for the BBC television series Yes, Prime Minister. Under Blair the chief of staff supplanted the PPS in running Downing Street operations and weakened the power of the cabinet secretary to co-ordinate government policy. The importance of Powell's role as chief of staff was said by the Guardian to make him "almost certainly the most powerful unelected official in the country" and possibly "the third most powerful altogether" after the prime minister and the chancellor of the exchequer.
Although the cabinet secretary continued to be a highly important role, as Head of the Home Civil Service it remained responsible for making sure that the Civil Service was organised effectively capable of delivering the Government's objectives, in the decade of Blair's premiership the chief of staff replaced the cabinet secretary as the right-hand man for the prime minister. "Powell had been at the epicentre of power. As Tony Blair's chief of staff, he was the ultimate fixer, the prime minister's first line of defence against events, baby-catcher in chief. When things went wrong, people called Powell." (
When Jonathan Powell stood down as chief of staff at the end of the Blair premiership in June 2007, incoming prime minister Gordon Brown temporarily appointed civil servant Tom Scholar as both chief of staff and Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister. This was again altered upon Scholar's scheduled departure in 2008, when the title chief of staff went into abeyance, and the role was divided amongst two posts in an attempt to split the political policy communication role from the management of civil servants within Number 10. Senior civil service Permanent Secretary Jeremy Heywood replaced Scholar as Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister, and was identified by the BBC as having effectively been appointed the new Downing Street chief of staff. In truth Stephen Carter shared this role, being appointed as a special advisor with the title Chief of Strategy and Principal Advisor to the Prime Minister, effectively to serve as chief of staff for policy and communication.
After less than a year in post Carter was appointed as a Minister and given a peerage in the House of Lords, amid speculation that the changes had resulted in his share of the chief of staff role having insufficient authority to direct cross-government operations. Heywood continued in his post, now effectively as the sole occupant of the chief of staff role, for the remainder of the Brown premiership. As is the practice in the politically neutral British civil service, the 2010 change of government has not required his being replaced, and so he remains Principal Private Secretary to Brown's successor as prime minister, David Cameron. However the chief of staff role has again been separated from that of the PPS: The title Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister being officially reinstated in May 2010, with Edward Llewellyn appointed to the post. Cameron also appointed a Deputy Chief of Staff, Kate Fall. Llewellyn had previously served as chief of staff to David Cameron throughout his term as leader of the opposition, and with the salaries of both the chief of staff and deputy chief of staff having been revealed to be greater than that of the deputy prime minister of the United Kingdom, Nick Clegg, so the role is likely to again be the powerful and central one seen under Tony Blair's premiership..
List of Chiefs of Staff
- Jonathan Powell: May 1997 – June 2007
- Tom Scholar: June 2007 – January 2008
- Jeremy Heywood and Stephen Carter (jointly, de facto): January 2008 – October 2008)
- Jeremy Heywood (de facto): October 2008 - May 2010
- Edward Llewellyn: May 2010 - present
References
- http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mandrake/6259262/Tony-Blairs-chief-of-staff-to-write-about-Machiavelli.html
- BBC news Profile: Jonathan Powell
- ^ Nick Assinder. Jonathan Powell BBC 14 July, 2004. (Accessed 25 September 2007)
- Guardian.co.uk
- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7205248.stm
- Staff. Number10.gov.uk, PM's office website of 10 Downing Street, (Accessed 25 September 2007)
- Staff. Cabinet Office, Organisation Chart Cabinet Office. (Accessed 25 September 2007)
- Guardian.co.uk
- Guardian.co.uk
- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7205248.stm
| Downing Street chiefs of staff | ||
|---|---|---|
| Margaret Thatcher |
| .svg) |
| Tony Blair |
| |
| Gordon Brown |
| |
| David Cameron |
| |
| Theresa May |
| |
| Boris Johnson |
| |
| Liz Truss |
| |
| Rishi Sunak |
| |
| Keir Starmer |
| |
| Downing Street | ||
|---|---|---|
| Buildings |  .jpg){kind=small} | |
| Residence | ||
| Prime Minister's Office | ||
| Miscellaneous | ||