Attacks on Civil Service ‘Blob’ Are ‘Self-Defeating Cowardice,’ Says Cabinet Secretary

Cabinet Secretary Simon Case on April 26, 2021. (Aaron Chown/PA)

Calling the civil service a “blob” is insulting and totally unacceptable, the UK’s most senior civil servant has argued.

Ministers who use such “dehumanising” language to characterise the civil service demonstrate “self-defeating cowardice,” cabinet secretary Simon Case told a cross-party group of MPs.

He attributed the worsening relations between the public sector staff and ministers to the use of “undermining” language, popularised by politicians.

In May, the Conservative MP Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg accused Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of failing to repeal remaining EU laws, scaling back on Brexit. Mr. Rees-Mogg said that “the blob has triumphed and the prime minister has abandoned his promise.”

Sir Jake Berry, who was briefly Conservative chairman under Liz Truss, blamed the “blob” for bringing the downfall of Boris Johnson, after he resigned as prime minister in June.

Speaking about such characterisations of the civil service by government ministers, Mr. Case said that he “obviously” doesn’t agree with it and found it “dehumanising.”

He said it was “self-defeating cowardice” to insult people who work for you and deliver public services on your behalf, especially given that they “can’t answer back.”

Mr. Case made his comments during the Wednesday session of the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee that discussed the work of the Cabinet Office.

He mentioned an instance of improper language use by ministers when the Conservative Party headquarters “mistakenly” issued a letter in the name of Home Secretary Suella Braverman.

The letter criticised “an activist blob of left-wing lawyers, civil servants and the Labour Party” for blocking the government in stopping small boat crossings into the UK. The party chair Greg Hands issued a speedy apology, while Ms. Braverman said she has not been aware of the letter and “distanced herself from that language.”

Mr. Case acknowledged that ministers have legitimate frustrations with how the government policies are delivered, but he said there are “proper processes to raise frustrations about the civil service.”

“That doesn’t mean that it is ok to take to the airwaves anonymously or named to use unacceptable language about people who are working hard to deliver public services,” Mr. Case told the committee.

The tone of how ministers talk about civil servants in public has changed, Mr. Case said. Under Mr. Sunak things have improved and ministers tend to distance themselves from improper language because it harms the government’s work, the cabinet secretary added.

Last week, Mr. Sunak rejected the characterization of civil servants as the “blob wandering down Whitehall, thwarting the ambitions of ministers.”

The prime minister said that he has “always been supported by incredibly hard-working and diligent civil servants.”

Sue Gray Case

The committee also questioned Mr. Case on the departure of Sue Gray from the civil service, where she served in the Cabinet Office until March.

Ms. Gray led an investigation into allegations of parties being held in Downing Street in breach of the COVID-19 lockdown rule. After resigning as a civil servant she discussed taking up a job as the Labour leader’s chief of staff.

The committee asked Mr. Case whether Ms. Gray’s switch has triggered concerns about the impartiality of the civil service, given accusations by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson that her investigation was tarnished.

Mr. Case said that some people sought to “weaponise” the Sue Gray case.

“Actually, it has been particularly important that we assure ourselves and ministers that ministers are comfortable and happy that the impartiality of the civil service has been upheld. They are satisfied it has,” Mr. Case told the MPs.

Ms. Gray was cleared by the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments in June and will be starting her chief of staff job in September.