Labour stands accused of packing a 'bloated' Whitehall with a rising number of 'Left-wing apparatchiks' at taxpayers' expense, as voters deliver a damning verdict on Sir Keir Starmer's premiership. Critics have slammed the government for failing to grip the 'ballooning welfare bill' while allowing the salary cost of special advisers to surge from £6.9 million under Boris Johnson in 2019-20 to £12.4 million in the most recent financial year.
Soaring numbers of special advisers and civil servants
Andy Burnham, set to take over as prime minister, will inherit a government where the number of special advisers, or 'spads', has jumped from 102 to 155 full-time equivalents over the same period. Meanwhile, the size of the Civil Service has mushroomed from 423,770 to 523,635 staff. The highest-paid members of Sir Keir's army of politically appointed advisers have earned up to £159,999.
Shadow Cabinet Office minister Mike Wood said Mr Burnham was about to 'inherit a Whitehall packed with Starmer’s apparatchiks' where aides are 'rewarded for this Government’s failure'. He added: 'Even with this bloated political operation, Labour has failed to get a grip on the biggest issues facing our country. Not least our ballooning welfare bill.'
Welfare spending forecast to hit £408.6 billion
Total welfare spending stood at £314.9 billion in 2024-25 and is forecast to reach £408.6 billion in 2030-31. Conservative MP Jack Rankin said taxpayers were 'picking up the tab for an untouchable Whitehall blob when they themselves are facing another tax whack'.
Anger at the cost of Labour insiders comes as voters delivered a withering assessment of Sir Keir’s record. Pollsters Opinium found nearly seven in 10 Britons (69%) believe his government has not been a success; just one in five (21%) think it has been successful.
Conservatives pledge to cut civil service numbers
Alex Burghart, the Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and a close ally of Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, has pledged to cut Civil Service numbers by around 132,000. He told the Sunday Express: 'The next Conservative Government will return the Civil Service to its 2016 staffing levels, saving £8 billion. We would use that money to slash business rates on the high street and abolish stamp duty on the family home instead.'
The government is under pressure to bring down welfare spending and rebuild Britain’s armed forces, but Sir Keir’s attempt to restrict benefits entitlement last year was derailed by a backbench rebellion – and there are doubts Mr Burnham will have more success.
Reform UK and other critics weigh in
Danny Kruger, who is preparing Reform UK’s plans for government, does not think Labour’s appointees in Whitehall can cut the bill. He said: 'Whitehall is already stuffed full of Left-wing apparatchiks. Labour’s complete inability to grip the bloated, self-serving civil service or our spiralling welfare bill means they are simply not serious about tackling the biggest challenges facing our country. Andy Burnham’s failure to even recognise this problem guarantees years more of deckchair-shuffling. Whitehall needs real reform and Burnham will never deliver it.'
Opinium’s polling uncovers deep unease about Mr Burnham’s financial plans. More than one in three Britons (35%) think his decisions on tax rises and spending reductions will be unfair; only 24% think they will be fair. The polling will make painful reading for Sir Keir as he leaves Downing Street. Two in five (41%) voters say his government has been worse than Rishi Sunak’s Conservative administration, with only 25% saying it has been better.
Former ministers and campaigners criticise Labour's approach
Former Leader of the Commons Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg suggested Labour did not trust civil servants. He said Labour’s reliance on special advisers shows that while the party is 'in hock to the Civil Service unions', it 'doesn’t trust them to run the country, so employs dozens of expensive spads'.
William Yarwood of the TaxPayers’ Alliance predicted the public 'will be furious to see Labour stacking an already bloated Whitehall', adding: 'Britain is crying out for a leaner state; not another empire of advisers, insiders and Left-wing placemen.' He said: 'Burnham should be cutting the blob down to size, not surrounding himself with more of the same people who have failed to tackle the country’s biggest problems.'
John Longworth of the Independent Business Network, which represents family firms, asked: 'What are they all doing apart from counting their gold-plated pension pots? If Burnham is to stand any chance of success he must start by cutting the public sector and welfare.'
Government defends role of special advisers
A Government spokesperson said: 'Special advisers play a critical role in providing advice and support to the Prime Minister and other Government ministers. The appointment of special advisers reflects the scale of the government's ambition to deliver for the public, managing the Civil Service and all parts of Government.'
Callum Price of the Institute of Economic Affairs warned of the dangers of 'ballooning national debt and sclerotic economic growth'. He said: 'It remains to be seen whether the new administration will have the right plan to tackle these issues, or fall at the same hurdles as the last: unable to cut the benefits bill or back their words up with real action to get the economy moving again.'
