Beautiful Virgin Islands

Saturday, Sep 13, 2025

Why is there unrest among civil servants and how will ministers respond?

Why is there unrest among civil servants and how will ministers respond?

Analysis: civil servants are frustrated with real-terms pay cuts, job losses, and political briefings against them
While ministers have tried to distance themselves from blame over the wave of strikes bringing some public services to a standstill this summer, they may be forced to show more deference to another group threatening industrial action.

Civil servants, whose morale is plumbing new depths due to real-terms pay cuts, 91,000 jobs being axed, and briefings against them by their political masters, have grown increasingly frustrated at how they are treated.

What were once hushed gripes shared at after-work drinks have spilled into the open. Furious comments posted on departments’ intranet pages over the past few months have lamented pay and conditions, attracting hundreds of supportive “likes” and discussion about hopes for voluntary redundancy.

With a median salary of just over £30,000, civil servants are certainly not immune from the cost of living crisis. But those whose roles centre on diversity and inclusion have been told by Cabinet Office minister Jacob Rees-Mogg that their jobs are a “waste of taxpayers’ money”. And Tory leadership hopeful Liz Truss wants to pay less outside London, and reduce annual leave entitlement.

Those plans are likely to lead to a further breakdown in spirits among a workforce sick of being the equivalent of a political punch bag.

Having been offered an average pay rise of 2% – well below inflation – civil service unions are considering flexing their muscles. Among those understood to be considering industrial action is the PCS, which will ballot members next month on whether to strike or take other action, such as working to rule.

“I know colleagues that have worked here for over 30 years and they have said it’s the worst morale since they joined,” one official told the Guardian. Others felt Truss’s announcement on Monday was clearly the sort of “red meat” designed to whet Conservative members’ appetite for attacking “the blob”.

“After years of battling to work with integrity and offer value to the taxpayer, to be told that the people delivering the vital services are the problem is a kick in the teeth,” another civil servant said.

With no new fast-streamers entering the civil service in September given the freeze on the scheme ordered by Boris Johnson, the lack of young new talent is sparking fears of a “brain drain” in the public sector.

Bob Kerslake, a former head of the civil service who went on to advise Labour, said that could be compounded if good people already working in Whitehall and across the country quit.

“Most private sector employers are busting a gut to retain and recruit staff – there’s a war for talent. This is about the reverse of what the private sector is doing,” he said.

“The key point here is that the vast bulk of civil servants are not in Whitehall at all – they work around the country delivering services: passports, benefits, welfare and pensions, collecting income tax. We already have mammoth backlogs – we are becoming backlog Britain – and this will exacerbate that.”

The “backlog Britain” warning will be particularly worrying for Conservative politicians who fear they are clinging to power by its coattails and risk being ousted at the next general election for failing to deliver basic public services.

Cutting the civil service and failing to plug vacancies caused by an exodus of people enticed by the private sector runs the risk of exacerbating delays in processing passport applications and driving tests.

Even asking officials to relocate to jobs outside London may not be the boon Truss predicts. While she wants to dramatically slim down the number of people who get a special London weighting to top up their salary, sources told the Guardian that the Treasury had to incentivise some of those moved to its campus in Darlington by maintaining the weighting for their first two years outside the capital.

Of course, one of the greatest dangers for ministers of alienating civil servants is a breakdown in trust. “Ministers seem to be praising in private and kicking us in public,” sighed one.

If civil servants feel unable to fight back publicly or through industrial action, they may resort to other tactics such as “go-slows” or other attempts to stymie the progress of policies or other government business, and that would be painful for both ministers and their voters.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
The German Owner of Politico Mathias Döpfner Eyes Further U.S. Media Expansion After Axel Springer Restructuring
Suspect Arrested: Utah Man in Custody for Charlie Kirk’s Fatal Shooting
In a politically motivated trial: Bolsonaro Sentenced to 27 Years for Plotting Coup After 2022 Defeat
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
ChatGPT CEO signals policy to alert authorities over suicidal youth after teen’s death
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
Starmer Establishes Economic ‘Budget Board’ to Centralise Policy and Rebuild Business Trust
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Brazilian police say ex-President Bolsonaro had planned to flee to Argentina seeking asylum
Trinidad Leader Applauds U.S. Naval Strike and Advocates Forceful Action Against Traffickers
Kim Jong Un Oversees Final Test of New High-Thrust Solid-Fuel Rocket Engine
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Supreme Court temporarily allows Trump to pause billions in foreign aid
Charlie Sheen says his father, Martin Sheen, turned him in to the police: 'The greatest betrayal possible'
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
Pig Heads Left Outside Multiple Paris Mosques in Outrage-Inducing Acts
Nvidia’s ‘Wow’ Factor Is Fading. The AI chip giant used to beat Wall Street expectations for earnings by a substantial margin. That trajectory is coming down to earth.
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
On the Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s Death: Prince Harry Returns to Britain
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Murdoch Family Finalises $3.3 Billion Succession Pact, Ensuring Eldest Son’s Leadership
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Court Staff Cover Up Banksy Image of Judge Beating a Protester
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
Elon Musk Poised to Become First Trillionaire Under Ambitious Tesla Pay Plan
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
Burning the Minister’s House Helped Protesters to Win Justice: Prabowo Fires Finance Minister in Wake of Indonesia Protests
Brazil Braces for Fallout from Bolsonaro Trial by corrupted judge
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
Nearly 40 Years Later: Nike Changes the Legendary Slogan Just Do It
Generations Born After 1939 Unlikely to Reach Age One Hundred, New Study Finds
End to a four-year manhunt in New Zealand: the father who abducted his children to the forests was killed, the three siblings were found
Germany Suspends Debt Rules, Funnels €500 Billion Toward Military and Proxy War Strategy
EU Prepares for War
×