Antonia Romeo handed powerful mandate to deliver No 10’s priorities
Antonia Romeo, Keir Starmer’s most senior civil servant, has been handed a powerful new mandate to deliver his priorities, while Darren Jones, the No 10 chief secretary, has shifted to a less hands-on role,Romeo, who was promoted last month, took over the job of cabinet secretary and head of the civil service after an unsuccessful year in charge by her predecessor Chris Wormald, who was not considered effective enough by No 10,In contrast, Romeo’s published objectives are full of requirements that she “visibly leads the civil service with clarity, energy and passion” and “champions a culture of curiosity, innovation and pride, recognising high performance and excellence in delivery and innovation”,She has also been handed the task of rewriting the civil service code and “reforming the civil service so that it is recognised for excellence in delivery, innovation and improved productivity”,The shift in Jones’s job was first reported by FT, which noted that he was spending less time in Downing Street and more time in the Cabinet Office since Romeo took over.
Cabinet Office sources said Jones was keeping the same job as chief secretary to the prime minister and chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster but there was less need for him to be hands on with “day-to-day” operations now that a new team is in place, and that he had successfully helped with a turnaround of No 10,He will focus on civil service reform and implementing plans for digital ID, while still chairing meetings for the prime minister, and handling problems for him,Jones was given the role of chief secretary to the prime minister last September at a point when Starmer needed to bolster his operation, after losing his communications chief James Lyons, and longstanding press chief Steph Driver,Downing Street sources said that Vidhya Alakeson, one of two deputies promoted to interim chief of staff after the resignation of Morgan McSweeney, was doing such a good job that she is leading candidate to take on the job on a longer term,His second co-chief of staff, Jill Cuthbertson, is on parental leave.
There is also still no director of communications, although longstanding press aide Sophie Nazemi is now taking on the role on an interim basis after the resignation of Tim Allan.The promotion of Romeo and bigger role for Alakeson mean the most powerful delivery jobs at the heart of the government have been handed to women.Romeo, a former permanent secretary at the Home Office and Ministry of Justice, is the first cabinet secretary to publish her goals for the job since Jeremy Heywood, who served under multiple prime ministers.The five headline goals include leading official delivery of the prime minister’s priorities, acting as his principal policy adviser, supporting proper and effective Cabinet government and decision-making, reforming the civil service, and leading an impartial, curious and engaged civil serviceThe goals make clear that Romeo will be both the main civil service adviser to the prime minister and leader of the civil service, despite calls in recent years for these two roles to be split.
Colbert on Trump’s Iran speech: old news ‘delivered by a narcotized turtle’
With most late-night hosts on holiday, Stephen Colbert recapped Donald Trump’s prime-time national address on the war in Iran and his firing of the US attorney general, Pam Bondi.Stephen Colbert opened Thursday’s Late Show with a celebration of the new US moon mission – “I’ve got moon madness!” he exclaimed – but after a bit on reported toilet trouble onboard Artemis II, he turned to more pressing Earth-bound matters. “Speaking of human waste, just a few hours ago we learnt that President Trump fired Attorney General Pam Bondi,” he told the audience at the Ed Sullivan Theater.“Now listen, in tribute to Pam Bondi, I offer this heartfelt farewell … ,” he added, pulling out a letter that began “Dear Pam”, followed by paragraphs of blacked-out text and the sign off: “Sincerely, Stephen Colbert” – a reference to the many, many redactions of the Epstein files that Bondi oversaw as attorney general.Bondi lost her job because Trump was reportedly upset over her handling of the said files, a dark cloud which still hangs over his administration
Post your questions for DJ Shadow
It’s almost 30 years since DJ Shadow released his era-defining debut album, Endtroducing….., and as is the way of the nostalgia industry, it had a lavish 25th-anniversary reissue five years ago, remastered at Abbey Road studios. It was such a success that Shadow has decided to repeat the process and clean up his “pre-album and non-album” catalogue. In May comes The Mo’Wax Singles 1993-1997, a box set featuring eight 12ins with all the Californian producer’s singles for James Lavelle’s label, plus alternative mixes and brand new art
Stephen Colbert on Trump attending birthright citizenship hearing: ‘That’s mob-boss-level intimidation’
Late-night hosts tore into Donald Trump’s intimidation tactics at the supreme court hearing on birthright citizenship and another judge’s order to halt construction of his White House ballroom.Wednesday was “a big night on all the broadcast networks”, said Stephen Colbert on The Late Show, as Trump gave a primetime national address on the war in Iran.“It was concise, intelligent and brought the nation together with shared purpose,” Colbert said. “April fools! Trump gave a speech tonight, on the first night of Passover. So whether you’re Jewish or not, I recommend having had four glasses of wine
Colbert on Trump’s shifting tone on Iran: ‘It’s a military strategy known as starting a 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle’
Late-night hosts touched on soaring oil prices from Donald Trump’s war in Iran as he backs down from solving the crisis in the strait of Hormuz.Stephen Colbert opened Tuesday’s monologue with an acknowledgment that for the first time since 2022, gas prices have soared to more than $4 a gallon. “I mean, who could’ve seen this coming? Just two days ago gas was a reasonable $3.98,” the Late Show host quipped. “Yesterday it was $3
Chatting dating, jazz and the Harlem Renaissance: the exclusive supper clubs where Black women nourish community
Dimmed lights and the honey-like vocals of R&B singers greeted guests at Sost, a restaurant in Washington DC, in late December. Though they entered as strangers, the 11 Black women attendees hugged each other before taking their seats. The ambiance was intimate and soulful, with a sparse table setting in a private room that boasted deep red walls. Crystle Johnson, the founder of Kinory, a dining community for Black women, led the group in a moment of silent meditation.As an icebreaker, everyone shared who they were without talking about their profession
‘After one gig, someone stole my car with my dole money in it’: Morcheeba on how they made The Sea
We’d made our first album and were waiting for it to come out. But we wanted to carry on writing more stuff while we were in the mood. I even cut Christmas dinner short at my uncle’s in Brixton, London, so we could get back to the studio. We would work until we passed out, then I’d sleep underneath the mixing desk with my head in the bass drum, as that’s where the pillow was.One night in early 1996, my brother Paul and I stayed up all night drinking vodka, trying to write as many songs as we could, and we came up with much of the Big Calm album
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