Anonymous20 days ago
Reform UK, now leading in UK opinion polls, has unveiled plans to fire all permanent secretaries, cut 68,500 civil service jobs, and replace senior officials with political allies — a proposal that would dismantle 170 years of civil service impartiality established by the Northcote-Trevelyan reforms. Unions, constitutional experts, and employment lawyers warn the plans risk creating a politicized "yes-men" culture reminiscent of the American spoils system, while the cautionary tale of Liz Truss's sacking of Treasury permanent secretary Tom Scholar in 2022 — which preceded Britain's worst modern economic crisis — looms large over the debate.