| Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty ImagesHer government was also more than happy to look into civil servants dubbed “subversives” and block their promotion. National Archives papers released years later show that 1,420 civil servants in Whitehall were monitored by spy agency MI5 and told to be kept away from computers and revenue collection rules amid fears about communist influence. Labour Prime Minister Blair spoke of “the scars on my back” from trying to reform and modernize the public sector. Gordon BrownBlair’s successor was a creature of the Treasury, serving as chancellor for a decade (and axing civil service jobs while he was at it) before taking the top post he coveted. Just months before the 2010 election, Brown — still dealing with the fallout of the global financial crisis and aiming to look tough on spending — slapped a pay freeze on the public sector, in a move described as “simply untenable” by the senior civil service union.

Source: The Times March 13, 2025 09:07 UTC