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Keir Starmer’s Top Civil Servant Quits Barely A Year After Being Appointed

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Keir Starmer has lost his top civil servant barely a year after appointing him.

Cabinet Secretary Sir Chris Wormald agreed “by mutual consent” with the prime minister to stand down.

The prime minister hailed Chris Wormald’s “exceptional” leadership when he was announced as cabinet secretary in December, 2024.

However, it is understoof the PM has been unhappy with his performance and now he has gone just 14 months later.

In a statement, Wormald said: “It has been an honour and a privilege to serve as a civil servant for the past 35 years, and a particular distinction to lead the service as Cabinet Secretary.

“I want to place on record my sincere thanks to the extraordinary civil servants, public servants, ministers, and advisers I have worked with. Our country is fortunate to have such dedicated individuals devoted to public service, and I wish them every success for the future.”

The PM said: “I am very grateful to Sir Chris for his long and distinguished career of public service, spanning more than 35 years, and for the support that he has given me over the past year.

“I have agreed with him that he will step down as Cabinet Secretary today. I wish him the very best for the future.”

He is the third senior official to leave No.10 in the past week, after chief of staff Morgan McSweeney resigned on Sunday and communications director Tim Allan quit on Monday.

Wormald’s departure raises fresh questions about Starmer’s judgment following his decision to appoint Peter Mandelson the UK’s ambassador to Washington.

The disgraced former Labour peer was sacked seven months later over his connections to convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

Mandelson is now facing a criminal investigation over allegations he passed market sensitive information to the billionaire financier when he was business secretary in the wake of the 2008 financial crash.

Starmer sang Wormald’s praises when he first appointed him just over a year ago, saying: “Delivering this scale of change will require exceptional civil service leadership.

“There could be no-one better placed to drive forward our Plan for Change than Chris, and I look forward to working with him as we fulfil the mandate of this new government, improving the lives of working people and strengthening our country with a decade of national renewal.”

Speculation that Starmer himself could step down reached fever pitch on Monday after Scottish leader Anas Sarwar urged him to quit, but the prime minister told Labour MPs he was “not prepared to walk away”.

“I have had my detractors every step along the way, and I’ve got them now. Detractors that don’t want a Labour government at all, and certainly not one to succeed,” Starmer said at a Parliamentary Labour Party meeting.

“But I’ll tell you this, after having fought so hard for the chance to change our country, I’m not prepared to walk away from my mandate and my responsibility to my country, or to plunge us into chaos, as others have done.”

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Nurses and other NHS staff to get 3.3% pay rise

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Unions angry, but government says it demonstrates its commitment to workforce.

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Odds Slashed On Greens By-Election Victory After Big Money Bets

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Bookies have slashed the odds on the Green Party winning the Gorton and Denton by-election after a flurry of big-money bets.

HuffPost UK has been told that £90,000 was wagered on the party’s candidate, Hannah Spencer, winning the crunch contest on February 26.

In response, Ladbrokes have installed the Greens as heavy odds-on favourites at 1/3, with Reform UK next on 3/1 and Labour the rank outsiders at 10/1.

In a post on X, the bookmakers said it had been “a volatile day in the betting markets for Gorton and Denton”.

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It’s been a volatile day in the betting markets for Gorton & Denton

Here’s how we bet currently:

🟢Greens – 1/3 (75%)
➡️Reform UK – 3/1 (25%)
🔴Labour – 10/1 (9%)
200/1 bar https://t.co/nakHgF3GMJ

— Ladbrokes Politics (@LadPolitics) February 12, 2026

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It’s been a volatile day in the betting markets for Gorton & Denton

Here’s how we bet currently:

🟢Greens – 1/3 (75%)
➡️Reform UK – 3/1 (25%)
🔴Labour – 10/1 (9%)
200/1 bar https://t.co/nakHgF3GMJ

— Ladbrokes Politics (@LadPolitics) February 12, 2026

A Green Party source told HuffPost UK: “Word on the ground is that Green support is growing and we’re seeing it in our canvassing. So no surprise that people are putting on bets too.

“But we take absolutely nothing for granted. We’re fully focussed on knocking on doors and raising awareness of our incredible candidate, Hannah Spencer.

“Labour’s vote is in freefall and this looks to have worsened further in recent days.”

The by-election was called after the resignation of sitting MP Andrew Gwynne, who retained the seat for Labour in 2024 with a majority of nearly 13,500.

If the party was to lose it, pressure would once again be piled on Keir Starmer, who survived an coup attempt earlier this week when Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar called on him to resign.

A Labour campaign spokesman said: “Zack Polanski is trying to talk his way into the race, but we’re hearing it on the doors every day – the Greens simply can’t win this by-election. A Labour campaign spokesman said: “Zack Polanski is trying to talk his way into the race, but we’re hearing it on the doors every day – the Greens simply can’t win this by-election.

“Only Labour’s Angeliki Stogia can beat Reform in Gorton and Denton. A vote for anyone else will risk letting in Reform’s Matthew Goodwin and his toxic politics.”

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