Jeremy Haywood

PEOPLE | 1961-2018

Jeremy Heywood was a pivotal figure in the British Deep State, serving as the Cabinet Secretary from 2012 until 2018 and as the Head of the Home Civil Service from 2014 until his retirement.

In 1994, Heywood directed a fundamental review of the Treasury that resulted in a thirty per cent reduction in senior management positions. This period, during which he was noted for his intense focus on efficiency and rationalisation, earned his department the moniker the corridor of death among threatened officials. This early work established him as a significant presence in Whitehall, combining technical expertise with a capacity for managing politically sensitive environments.

Consolidation of Power in Downing Street

Heywood served as a uniquely influential constant across four successive prime ministerships, providing continuity through the administrations of Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, David Cameron, and Theresa May.

Under Blair, he held the roles of economic and domestic policy secretary and principal private secretary, where he became a key mediator in the turbulent relationship between the Prime Minister and Chancellor Gordon Brown. He facilitated daily and weekly negotiations with the Treasury to maintain the stability of the government.

After a four-year interval in the private sector at Morgan Stanley between 2003 and 2007, he was recalled to government by Gordon Brown to serve as the Downing Street Permanent Secretary. In this capacity, he brought order to a chaotic Number 10 operation and later played a central role in the formation of the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition following the 2010 general election. His influence was such that prime ministers judged him indispensable, often delegating vast executive functions to him.

Structural Reforms and Legal Centralisation

One of the most significant contributions made by Heywood was the fundamental restructuring of the Cabinet Office. He successfully grabbed control of large sections of the legal system, consolidating this authority within the Cabinet Office and effectively displacing the traditional power of the Attorney General.

This centralised legal entity spread its influence throughout the entire state apparatus, ensuring that government lawyers prioritised international legal frameworks, such as the European Convention on Human Rights (Human Rights Act), over the interests of the sitting administration.

This legal section functions as the heart of darkness within the British government, dictating ministerial actions through a secret internal reality of legal advice that is never made public.

Under Heywood’s leadership, this system evolved into a layer of legality stacked on top of the traditional state, creating a reverberation chamber that often thwarts the objectives of elected politicians. This structure ensures that the British administrative state remains captured by a managerial bureaucracy that operates behind the scenes.

Constitutional Roles and Administrative Stagnation

Heywood’s tenure was marked by the emergence of a pervasive quangocracy that extracted power from the government, rendering ministers no longer accountable for the functions of their own departments.

As the top dog in the civil service, he oversaw an organisation that increasingly rewarded the delay of responsibility and the avoidance of personal accountability. This contributed to an inverse talent ratchet, where highly able individuals often left public service by their 40s, leaving a leadership class committed to preserving existing power and budgets over delivery.

The concentration of power in the role of Cabinet Secretary reached an extreme during this era, with the office becoming much more powerful than any individual government minister. While the Cabinet Office was originally intended as a secretarial function with no control over policy or personnel, Heywood transformed it into an entity that dictates both, resulting in a system where unseen power has shifted entirely to non-elected officials.

Major Controversies and Media Relations

Known by the tabloid press as Sir Cover-Up, Heywood was frequently at the centre of modern political controversies. He famously vetoed the release of 150 letters and records of phone calls between Tony Blair and United States President George W Bush to the Chilcot inquiry into the Iraq War.

Additionally, he ordered the destruction of leaked National Security Agency files held by the Guardian and was involved in the alleged gagging of ministers regarding the European Union referendum.

During the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, Heywood collaborated with the Queen’s private secretary to fashion a public statement for the monarch that registers a coded warning about the future. Though he denied politicising the royals, this intervention was seen as a breach of constitutional impartiality to favour the pro-Union campaign.

During the Brexit negotiations, government lawyers under his influence were noted for leaking against their own administration, reflecting a deep commitment to Remain-leaning principles over government policy.