Skip to main content

JAMES FORSYTH: Jeremy's still king of Whitehall - but is his crown slipping?

/li> 0 shares 10

comments

Formidable operator: Cabinet Secretary Jeremy Heywood is respected by friend and foe alike, but he has had a rotten start to the year

There’s no point in having a referendum on whether we should leave the EU because, whatever the result, Jeremy Heywood will still run Britain,’ one Cabinet Minister likes to joke.

This quip, delivered with a touch of bitterness at the power of this unelected official, is a testament to the 51-year-old Cabinet Secretary’s standing. Sir Jeremy  is regarded by friend and foe alike as the most formidable operator in Whitehall.

Yet Heywood has had a rotten start to the year. He was embarrassed when appearing before the Public Administration Select Committee by the perfunctory nature of his investigation into the allegation that former Chief Whip Andrew Mitchell called police officers ‘plebs’.

However, the appearance could have been a lot worse for the Cabinet Secretary. For I’m informed that he was one of the main obstacles to Mitchell being given CCTV footage that showed the police log of the incident was inaccurate. If Mitchell had been handed the footage faster, he could have set about clearing his name far earlier.

Heywood has no shortage of enemies to relish his difficulties. One Secretary of State complains that he ‘wanders into No 10 as if he owns the place’, while a Whitehall source tells me there is irritation at how often stories emerge painting him in a favourable light at the expense of others.

  More... JAMES FORSYTH: Can desperate Dave find a silver bullet to kill off Farage? JAMES FORSYTH: The Coalition's in good cheer - so the hangover will be terrible

Heywood is not popular with the other permanent secretaries either, despite inviting them to his house for a Christmas party. 

One Whitehall source describes the Cabinet Secretary’s attitude towards them as: ‘Why can’t everyone work as hard and be as clever as me?’

However, he has set about  making himself indispensable to the Prime Minister. When David Cameron arrived at No 10, Heywood sat at a desk outside his office. From this spot, he could slip into any discussion.

One figure who has had run-ins with Heywood says his full-spectrum dominance reflects the fact that he is far more prepared to attend meetings with a political element than most other Whitehall mandarins.

I’m told that Cameron occasionally jokes that civil servants present should cover their ears while he says something political – at which point Heywood’s ears prick up.

Indispensable: Aides who want to give David Cameron advice without Heywood's knowledge have been reduced to trying to surreptitiously slip a note into the PM's Red Box

Aides who want to give Cameron advice without Heywood’s knowledge have been reduced to trying to surreptitiously slip a note into the Prime Minister’s Red Box.

Few can match Heywood on stamina and attention to detail. Steve Hilton, Cameron’s senior adviser, once tried to wrest control of the box from Heywood by demanding that all the box notes had to go through him as well. Yet the sheer weight of material put paid to this effort. Hilton has since gone on sabbatical, partly in frustration at the extent of Heywood’s influence.

Ironically, during the first few months of the Coalition, Hilton was full of praise for Heywood’s can-do approach. One Tory observed: ‘Jeremy is the supreme bureaucratic infighter. He played Steve like a fiddle.’

But Heywood’s ability to serve multiple interests will be tested to the limit by the debate over Civil Service reform.

His political masters are impatient for radical changes, but his fellow Sir Humphreys are deeply resistant. This week’s launch of a cross-party working group on Civil Service reform will turn up the pressure. 

However, Heywood knows that he is playing a long game. In conversation, he sometimes pointedly refers to the ‘current Government’.

It is a reminder that he intends to be at the centre of power far longer than any politician.

Theresa wins applause - for eating out a lot

Theresa May did not run for the Tory leadership in 2005 because she didn’t have enough support among her fellow MPs.

Westminster legend has it that she could  find a proposer but not a seconder.

However, the Home Secretary, left, is steadily building a support base in the parliamentary party.

A contender: Home Secretary Theresa May 'has come out of her shell in the past few years', one ally has noted

As one ally notes: ‘She has come out of her shell in the past few years. Colleagues can see who she is now.’

At a meeting of Tory backbenchers last week, she received a minute  of desk-banging applause when  MP Chris Kelly praised her as one of the few senior Ministers willing to address constituency association dinners.

In March, she will be the keynote speaker at a conference organised by the ConservativeHome website.

One can’t imagine the loyal, cautious May ever challenging Cameron for the leadership, but if a vacancy ever arose, she’d now be a player.

.........................................................................................................

Liam Fox is a man on the move.

The Right-wing former Defence Secretary’s criticism of the Government’s gay-marriage plans was just the first in a series of interventions over the coming weeks.

Ten days after David Cameron’s long-awaited speech on Europe, Fox will deliver his own in Germany. No 10 could do with support from a man who has a deep reach into the Eurosceptic wing.

Man on the move: Former Defence Secretary Liam Fox has a deep reach into the Eurosceptic wing of the Tory party

Fox is also planning an address on the economy before the  Budget. While his position is more radical than the Coalition’s, George Osborne is tempted by the idea of a manifesto pledge to reduce the deficit via spending cuts not tax rises.

There are  even rumours the Chancellor will push for Fox to return to Cabinet  at the next reshuffle.

..................................................................................................

Europe is back. The Conservative Party  is getting ready to tear itself apart again ahead of David Cameron’s big speech on Britain’s relationship with Europe.

News programmes are dominated by Tory MPs arguing with each other, while the Europhile grandee Lord Heseltine is savaging the  Prime Minister’s approach to the issue. 

Yet Downing Street seems oddly oblivious. One person familiar with the Prime Minister’s tactics boasts that the speech ‘will knock the  issue on the head.

Whenever people ask what our European strategy is, we’ll be able to point to it’. Even Cameron himself talks about it kicking the subject into touch until 2015.

But there is mounting concern among Tory Ministers that the speech will not go far enough and end up sparking a massive, destabilising Tory row on the subject.

One senior Conservative Cabinet Minister tells me: ‘It would be better to make no speech than to disappoint.’ 

Cameron has summoned the Tory members of Cabinet to a meeting in his Commons office on Wednesday lunchtime.

If he detects reservations among them about the speech, he should be very worried indeed.




Popular posts from this blog

Study Abroad USA, College of Charleston, Popular Courses, Alumni

Thinking for Study Abroad USA. School of Charleston, the wonderful grounds is situated in the actual middle of a verifiable city - Charleston. Get snatched up by the wonderful and customary engineering, beautiful pathways, or look at the advanced steel and glass building which houses the School of Business. The grounds additionally gives students simple admittance to a few major tech organizations like Amazon's CreateSpace, Google, TwitPic, and so on. The school offers students nearby as well as off-grounds convenience going from completely outfitted home lobbies to memorable homes. It is prepared to offer different types of assistance and facilities like clubs, associations, sporting exercises, support administrations, etc. To put it plainly, the school grounds is rising with energy and there will never be a dull second for students at the College of Charleston. Concentrate on Abroad USA is improving and remunerating for your future. The energetic grounds likewise houses various

Best MBA Online Colleges in the USA

“Opportunities never open, instead we create them for us”. Beginning with this amazing saying, let’s unbox today’s knowledge. Love Business and marketing? Want to make a high-paid career in business administration? Well, if yes, then mate, we have got you something amazing to do!   We all imagine an effortless future with a cozy house and a laptop. Well, well! You can make this happen. Today, with this guide, we will be exploring some of the top-notch online MBA universities and institutes in the USA. Let’s get started! Why learn Online MBA from the USA? Access to More Options This online era has given a second chance to children who want to reflect on their careers while managing their hectic schedules. In this, the internet has played a very crucial in rejuvenating schools, institutes, and colleges to give the best education to students across the globe. Graduating with Less Debt Regular classes from high reputed institutes often charge heavy tuition fees. However onl

Sickening moment maskless 'Karen' COUGHS in the face of grocery store customer, then claims she doesn't have to wear a mask because she 'isn't sick'

A woman was captured on camera following a customer through a supermarket as she coughs on her after claiming she does not need a mask because she is not sick.  Video of the incident, which has garnered hundreds of thousands of views on Twitter alone, allegedly took place in a Su per Saver in Lincoln, Nebraska according to Twitter user @davenewworld_2. In it, an unidentified woman was captured dramatically coughing as she smiles saying 'Excuse me! I'm coming through' in the direction of the customer recording her. Scroll down for video An unidentified woman was captured dramatically coughing as she smiles saying 'Excuse me! I'm coming through' in the direction of a woman recording her A woman was captured on camera following a customer as she coughs on her in a supermarket without a mask on claiming she does not need one because she is not sick @chaiteabugz #karen #covid #karens #karensgonewild #karensalert #masks we were just wearing a mask at the store. ¿ o