Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to to fight the “overcautious and flabby” British state, promising root and branch reform of the civil service.
Ahead of a speech on Thursday, where he will put thousands of civil servants on job alert, the prime minister made the stark admission that record tax and spending in recent years has not led to improvement in front-line services.
Writing in The Telegraph, the prime minister described the civil service as “overstretched, unfocused and unable to deliver the security people need today.”
His warning that the state has become “bigger, but weaker” is a significant intervention for the leader of a Labour government and echoes the sentiments of Trump-ally Elon Musk, who has been tasked with slashing bureaucracy in the US administration.
But Sir Keir insisted he is “not interested in ideological arguments about whether it should be bigger or smaller. I simply want it to work.”
Speaking on Thursday, the PM will hail a “£45bn jackpot” from digitalising government services, linked to announcements over the weekend about reforming Whitehall to cut costs.
In a worrying sign for many civil servants, he will insist that jobs should not exist if artificial intelligence (AI) or computers can do them better.
Sir Keir will hail a “new era” in government operations and while ministers have refused to set a target on how many jobs may be scrapped, his words suggest a potential major reduction.
The prime minister is expected to say: “The great forces buffeting the lives of working people, and an era of instability driving in their lives….
“The need for greater urgency now could not be any clearer. We must move further and faster on security and renewal.
“Every pound spent, every regulation, every decision must deliver for working people.
“If we push forward with the digitisation of government services. There are up to £45bn worth of savings and productivity benefits, ready to be realised.
“And that’s before we even consider the golden opportunity of artificial intelligence. An opportunity I am determined to seize.”
Ahead of the speech, technology secretary Peter Kyle said: “There is a £45bn jackpot to secure if we use technology properly across our public sector – but we can’t hope to come close to securing that if we don’t have the right technical talent with us in government.
“Not only will these changes help fix our public services, but it will save taxpayer cash by slashing the need for thousands of expensive contractors and create opportunities across the country as part of our plan for change.”
In his speech Sir Keir will set out how he will “go further and faster in reshaping the state to make it work for working people.”
Reflecting on international events of the last few weeks, he will say that national security is economic security, and therefore “the fundamental task of politics right now is to take the decisions needed on national security, to deliver security for people at home.”
The prime minister will set out his belief in the power of “an active government that takes care of the big questions, so people can get on with their lives.”
He will share his diagnosis that the state has become bigger, but weaker and isn’t delivering on its core purpose, before outlining his mission to reshape it. He will say that the new global “era of instability” means that the Government must double down in delivering security for working people and renewing our nation.
The intervention follows the government’s step change in approach to regulation and regulators, following the abolition of the Payment Services Authority as the Prime Minister commits to a government wide target to cut administrative costs of regulation by 25 per cent.
New plans announced to support delivery will include new AI and tech teams sent into public sector departments to drive improvements and efficiency in public services. One in 10 civil servants will work in tech and digital roles within the next five years with 2,000 tech apprenticeships turbo charging the transformation.
The moves come as the Government slashes the costs of red tape by a quarter for businesses.
The approach will be underpinned by the mantra that “No person’s substantive time should be spent on a task where digital or AI can do it better, quicker and to the same high quality and standard.”
The digitisation will include the sweeping modernisations, a new apprenticeship scheme, TechTrack, will bring 2,000 apprentices into public sector departments by 2030, making sure the UK government has the skills needed to overhaul public services using tech - creating new opportunities across the country and delivering on the plan for change.
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