Starmer reshuffles No 10 team and creates new chief secretary role
Prime minister seeks tighter command of Downing Street operations with appointments as MPs return to Parliament
Sir Keir Starmer announced a reorganisation of his Downing Street team on Monday, creating a new role — Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister — and appointing MP Darren Jones to the post as he moved to centralise control of government operations.
The changes, unveiled as MPs returned to Parliament, also reduced overlapping senior roles in communications and policy. Officials said the reorganisation was intended to give the prime minister firmer command of what he has described as a sluggish and unwieldy government machine.
The new chief secretary job is a creation of the Starmer administration. Bringing a sitting MP into the heart of Downing Street operations is uncommon, though there is precedent: Conservative MP Steve Barclay served as chief of staff in Downing Street during the final months of Boris Johnson's premiership. Many of the other appointees named on Monday are not household names in Westminster, reflecting an emphasis on organisational change rather than high-profile public figures, said Henry Zeffman, chief political correspondent for the reporting outlet that first described the reshuffle.
Beyond the chief secretary appointment, the reorganisation eliminated duplication at the top of two key functions. Where there had recently been two directors of communications and as many as four people with claims to lead on policy, Starmer's team now has a single director of communications and one head of policy, establishing clearer lines of responsibility, officials said.
Downing Street framed the moves as both innovative and conventional: innovative in creating roles designed to strengthen central coordination, and conventional in simplifying and clarifying hierarchical structures that had encouraged rivalries and unclear accountability. The administration said the changes were intended to streamline decision-making and improve delivery across government departments.
The shake-up comes as the Starmer government seeks to translate pledges on public services, economic management and governance into concrete outcomes. Ministers and officials have in recent weeks faced scrutiny over the speed and coherence of policy implementation, and the prime minister has publicly criticised a tendency in government for processes to be slow and fragmented.
Labour advisers and No 10 insiders described the reorganisation as an early effort to professionalise the centre of government and to avoid the overlapping responsibilities that can complicate message discipline and policy development. The appointment of an MP to a senior operational role is intended to bridge parliamentary and executive demands, while the consolidation of communications and policy leadership is designed to present a single voice and clearer routes for decisions.
The announcements were made at the start of a parliamentary week during which the government is expected to set out further priorities and face questions from MPs. Downing Street declined to disclose detailed reporting lines beyond the top appointments, saying further staffing changes would be communicated as decisions were finalised.
Political commentators noted that reworking No 10's structure is a common early priority for new administrations seeking to imprint their managerial style on government. How the new configuration affects day-to-day coordination between ministers, officials and Parliament will be observed closely in the coming months as the government advances its legislative and domestic agenda.