Darren Jones To Run No 10 Delivery As Keir Starmer Shakes Up His Top Team
Darren Jones has served as chief secretary to the Treasury since the general election last year (Alamy)
3 min read
Keir Starmer has made Cabinet minister Darren Jones his chief secretary in Downing Street as part of a major shake-up of his No 10 operation.
Jones, who had been chief secretary to the Treasury, will now be Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister, tasked with leading the day-to-day delivery of Starmer's agenda, a Downing Street spokesperson announced on Monday morning.
The Prime Minister is carrying out a minor reshuffle as Parliament returns after summer recess, with the government facing a daunting in-tray in the coming months, including Chancellor Rachel Reeves' challenging Autumn Budget, potential further strikes across the NHS, and pressure to bring down the number of small boats crossing the English Channel.
Treasury minister James Murray has been promoted to become Chief Secretary to the Treasury, and Dan Tomlinson, who was elected as a Labour MP last year, will take up Murray's job. Tomlinson has previously been appointed as the government’s 'growth mission champion' to promote the government's work from the backbenches.
A No10 spokesperson said that the prime minister was "bolstering the Downing Street operation" and "ramping up the next phase of the government's domestic agenda".
There have been non-ministerial changes to the PM's team, too.
Tim Allan, who was an adviser to former Labour prime minister Tony Blair in No10, and went on to set up consultancy Portland Communications, has been brought in as executive director of government communications.
James Lyons, Downing Street’s director of communications for strategy, is reportedly stepping down, while Steph Driver, who runs the day-to-day communications in No10, is remaining in post.
The Prime Minister has also appointed former Bank of England deputy governor Baroness Minouche Shafik as his new economics adviser in No 10. This move is seen as part of an effort to bolster Starmer's economics operation ahead of what is expected to be a tricky Autumn Budget.
Just more than a year after a landslide general election victory, Labour's popularity has fallen sharply to around 20 per cent, according to YouGov, down from 34 per cent at the 2024 election.
Leading pollster and former president of YouGov, Peter Kellner, told PoliticsHome that Starmer should ignore the polls and focus on what he thinks is right for the country if he wants Labour to stay in government beyond the next general election.
“Voters are fickle,” said Kellner, speaking ahead of Parliament's return this week.
“If you do something they like at the time but it doesn’t work, they will still punish you. Your best strategy is to assume you will lose the next election. Do what you think will work, is right for Britain and upholds your values."
The Prime Minister is expected to carry out a wider ministerial reshuffle in the coming weeks, potentially ahead of Labour Party conference at the end of this month.
