STORY
Keir Starmer has created a new Downing Street role and appointed Labour frontbencher Darren Jones as Chief Secretary (Minister of State) to the Prime Minister, tasking him with driving delivery across government and reporting directly to No 10. The post will attend Cabinet. At the same time, Starmer has brought in Baroness (Minouche) Shafik as his Chief Economic Adviser, adding heavyweight economic counsel at the centre as MPs return from summer recess.
Downing Street said the Chief Secretary will work across departments to accelerate progress on the government’s priorities and “Plan for Change” while Shafik will advise the Prime Minister on economic affairs. Shafik is a former Deputy Governor of the Bank of England, Deputy Managing Director of the IMF and ex–Permanent Secretary at DFID and she later led the LSE and Columbia University before stepping down from the latter in 2024.
The move forms part of a broader shake-up at the top of government and the Cabinet Office confirmed that James Murray replaces Jones as Chief Secretary to the Treasury, with Daniel Tomlinson moving into the Treasury ministerial team, changes aligned with reports of a tighter Downing Street operation as the government prepares for an intense autumn.