We have a new cabinet secretary! After a shambolic week in which Downing Street were forced to admit to the lobby that they did not know who was running the Civil Service, today we finally get our answer. Antonia Romeo is the first woman to rule Whitehall, taking over from the somewhat plodding Chris Wormald. He earns the distinction of being the shortest serving cabinet secretary in history – a blow that will be somewhat softened by a pay-off worth at least £260,000. Ching ching!
Romeo faced multiple bullying complaints earlier in her career but government sources have told the BBC today that Sir Keir Starmer was impressed by her ability to ‘get things done’. Gee, that would be a novelty eh? In modern Whitehall, where hard rains and foul-mouthed spads rule aplenty, it says something that Romeo is already the longest-serving permanent secretary at just 51, having led the Home Office, Ministry of Justice and Dept for International Trade. Amid much horror in the press about her supposed ‘self-promoting’, Steerpike just hopes that Sir Humphrey’s spiritual successor keeps giving the press good content to write about…
As one Whitehall source told Mr S: ‘The hare has finally beat the tortoise.’
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