it was confirmed that Sir Mark Sedwill, the Cabinet Secretary, would be leaving the role in September. The announcement had been planned for later in the year, but was rushed out after The Telegraph and the Financial Times reported on the plans.
While Sir Mark officially resigned, it seems fairly clear that he was forced out. The head of the Civil Service, who also served as National Security Adviser, had been expected to be cleared out as soon as Johnson came into office, but, initially at least, was said to enjoy a good relationship with the new PM and his chief adviser, Dominic Cummings.
In recent months, however, it has soured considerably and Sir Mark has been subject to considerable briefings against him to the media, especially over the coronavirus crisis.
– Here comes the hard rain –
The departure of Sir Mark, who will become the shortest-serving Cabinet Secretary, means that three of the top four civil servants in Whitehall have all been cleared out under Johnson, with only the permanent secretary at the Treasury remaining.
While Sir Mark was a key ally and effectively a creation of Theresa May’s, this is, for obvious reasons, being seen as part of Cummings’ plans to upend Whitehall, following his briefing to advisers this month that a “hard rain” was coming for the Civil Service.
On Saturday, Michael Gove gave some indication of the plans. He talked of breaking up departments and moving civil servants to the Midlands and the North, getting more scientists involved and making Whitehall and the Government “closer to the 52 per cent who voted to leave”.
[One of Cummings' key objectives] is to redress the balance of power between No. 10 and the Whitehall departments. The UK is unusual in that the PM has plenty of official power but very few resources to enforce it. Pulling a lever only for nothing to happen is a familiar feeling among former prime ministers.
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