LIZ Truss is attacking the Treasury to deflect from years of “rubbish” leadership on the UK economy, a former civil service chief has said.
The claim follows the Prime Minister’s decision to axe Sir Tom Scholar as permanent secretary at the Treasury in a bid to promote “pro-growth” policy – a move that has prompted a major backlash in Whitehall.
Ex-cabinet secretary Andrew Turnbull said it was wrong to undermine Treasury “orthodoxy” on economic planning – while highlighting that the Tories have been in government for 12 years of low growth.
Turnbull told The Times: “What has been the quality of the political leadership we’ve had?
“It’s been rubbish – very, very poor in its ability to take long-term, strategic decisions.”
Turnbull went on to criticise the Tories for a lack of clear policy making.
He said: “The idea it’s Treasury policy that is uniquely behind their problems when there are plenty of other things, not least the inability of government to take unpopular decisions, is completely unconvincing.”
Turnbull added: “There’s been a political orthodoxy but I don’t think there is a Treasury orthodoxy.”
This follows Sir Leigh Lewis, former permanent secretary at the Department for Work and Pensions, slating the current cabinet secretary Simon Case over the dismissal of senior Whitehall officials.
Lewis wrote in a letter to The Times: “He needs also to stand up for the fundamental importance of senior civil servants being appointed on merit, not least in the appointment of Scholar’s successor.
He added: “I hope he has the courage and conviction to do so. If not, he needs to make way for someone who has.”
Other former cabinet secretaries Lord O’Donnell and Lord Butler have also voiced their concerns over Scholar’s sacking, which means that only one of the people who led the civil service between 1988 and 2012 has not protested the move.
Lord Wilson, cabinet secretary under Tony Blair, said Scholar’s removal was “a sure route to bad decision-making and weak government. It is also another small step on the road to politicising the civil service”.
Meanwhile, Lord Kerslake said Scholar’s ousting was “retrograde and worrying” adding that it signalled a shift to the Government favouring civil servants who share similar political views.
Lord Macpherson, who formerly held the top job at the Treasury, also slammed the decision – saying that Scholar’s experience would have been “invaluable” amid the soaring cost-of-living, adding “sacking him makes no sense.”
In his departing statement, Scholar referenced the energy crisis, saying he wished his former colleagues “all the best for the times ahead” and that he would be “cheering on from the sidelines”.
