Starmer Accused Of 'Channelling Trump' With 'Rude' Remarks About Civil Service

Keir Starmer was accused of channelling Donald Trump this morning following his criticism towards the civil service.

After an unsteady first five months in power, the prime minister tried to relaunch his government on Thursday by setting out a series of new “missions” and his general “plan for change”.

But Starmer has already come under fire once again for also attacking Whitehall in his landmark speech.

He said: “I don’t think there’s a swamp to be drained here, but too many people in Whitehall are comfortable in tepid bath of managed decline.”

He added that there were too many people working in the civil service – and politics – who had “forgotten, to paraphrase JFK, that you choose change, not because it’s easy but because it’s hard”.

Meanwhile, Trump has accused American civil servants of “destroying” the US, claiming: “They’re crooked people, they’re dishonest people. They’re going to be held accountable.”

So Sky News presenter Anna Jones put it to housing minister Matthew Pennycook that the PM was emulating the US president-elect.

Jones said: “Keir Starmer yesterday was pretty rude about civil servants, wasn’t he? He seemed to be channelling Donald Trump.

“Do you think insulting civil servants is the right way to make progress?”

It comes after the general secretary of the FDA union, Dave Penman also told BBC Newsnight that Starmer was using “Trumpian” language.

But Pennycook claimed he did not think the prime minister was insulting civil servants “in any way”.

He said he had come across some of the most “dedicated, committed, professional” people he has ever worked with in the civil service, but he admitted “silos” in Whitehall have to be broken down.

The minister added: “It’s absolutely essential to say that a bunch of incredibly committed and professional people are working with us but we have to change the way we do things.”

He said “stretching milestones” need to be put in place and monitored, and warned: “We are going to do things differently.”

Starmer’s comments sparked backlash among civil servants, too.

Penman also told the i newspaper: “The language of leadership is important and I think he got it wrong.”

He added; “Try that language as a CEO and see if it boosts productivity.”