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| Whitehall union attacks May for civil service bashing Whitehall union attacks May for civil service bashing | |
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| Theresa May has been accused of irresponsible “civil service bashing” by the mandarins’ union after using an interview to criticise Whitehall staff. | Theresa May has been accused of irresponsible “civil service bashing” by the mandarins’ union after using an interview to criticise Whitehall staff. |
| Dave Penman, the head of the FDA, said May had joined an unedifying list of prime ministers who have publicly criticised underpaid and overworked civil servants instead of voicing any concerns in private. | Dave Penman, the head of the FDA, said May had joined an unedifying list of prime ministers who have publicly criticised underpaid and overworked civil servants instead of voicing any concerns in private. |
| It follows a Spectator interview in which she questioned the way staff in Whitehall fail to speak their minds and expressed exasperation at their fondness for acronyms. | It follows a Spectator interview in which she questioned the way staff in Whitehall fail to speak their minds and expressed exasperation at their fondness for acronyms. |
| Penman, whose union represents top-grade civil servants including permanent secretaries, said: “Prime ministers have a responsibility to show leadership to the civil service, but few definitions of leadership include publicly criticising your overworked and underpaid staff. | Penman, whose union represents top-grade civil servants including permanent secretaries, said: “Prime ministers have a responsibility to show leadership to the civil service, but few definitions of leadership include publicly criticising your overworked and underpaid staff. |
| “Whatever her intentions, Theresa May now joins an unedifying list of prime ministers who have taken to print to vent their frustrations about civil servants. I wonder what her response would be if civil servants were to deliver a public critique of prime ministerial failings. | “Whatever her intentions, Theresa May now joins an unedifying list of prime ministers who have taken to print to vent their frustrations about civil servants. I wonder what her response would be if civil servants were to deliver a public critique of prime ministerial failings. |
| “Civil servants, like politicians, are not infallible. But true leadership is dealing with those issues in private and not resorting to the sort of civil-service bashing that certain sections of the media appear to crave.” | “Civil servants, like politicians, are not infallible. But true leadership is dealing with those issues in private and not resorting to the sort of civil-service bashing that certain sections of the media appear to crave.” |
| May told the magazine that her civil servants do not speak their minds and she dislikes officials’ fondness for the contraction of her concern for “just about managing” families to “Jams”. | May told the magazine that her civil servants do not speak their minds and she dislikes officials’ fondness for the contraction of her concern for “just about managing” families to “Jams”. |
| In the interview, the prime minister said she was also frustrated to learn that Whitehall staff had assigned an annual income span of £18,000 to £21,000 to the just about managing group, which was not her intention. | In the interview, the prime minister said she was also frustrated to learn that Whitehall staff had assigned an annual income span of £18,000 to £21,000 to the just about managing group, which was not her intention. |
| “Honestly, I get a bit frustrated when the system wants to box everything in and produce an acronym that they can use,” May said. “I’m talking about ordinary working people, for whom life is a bit of a struggle. They may be holding down two or three jobs in order to make ends meet. In a job, but worried about job security. Owning a home, but worried about paying the mortgage … you can’t just box them into a simple descriptor category. Which is why I get frustrated when Whitehall tries to do that.” | “Honestly, I get a bit frustrated when the system wants to box everything in and produce an acronym that they can use,” May said. “I’m talking about ordinary working people, for whom life is a bit of a struggle. They may be holding down two or three jobs in order to make ends meet. In a job, but worried about job security. Owning a home, but worried about paying the mortgage … you can’t just box them into a simple descriptor category. Which is why I get frustrated when Whitehall tries to do that.” |
| She said civil servants should aim to speak openly, and not succumb to the “tendency in the system to try to interpret what they think you want, and to deliver that”. | She said civil servants should aim to speak openly, and not succumb to the “tendency in the system to try to interpret what they think you want, and to deliver that”. |
| She said: “From the officials’ point of view, what they owe to the minister, and what the minister expects, is the best possible advice.” | She said: “From the officials’ point of view, what they owe to the minister, and what the minister expects, is the best possible advice.” |
| She added: “Don’t try to tell me what you think I want to hear. I want your advice, I want the options. Then politicians make the decisions.” | She added: “Don’t try to tell me what you think I want to hear. I want your advice, I want the options. Then politicians make the decisions.” |
| Elsewhere in an interview that covered areas as diverse as May’s preferences in ministerial meetings to her tips for cooking a Christmas turkey, she reiterated her surprise about ending the year as prime minister. | Elsewhere in an interview that covered areas as diverse as May’s preferences in ministerial meetings to her tips for cooking a Christmas turkey, she reiterated her surprise about ending the year as prime minister. |
| “I hadn’t expected the vote to go the way it did,” she said of the EU referendum, which prompted David Cameron to stand down. “And I was then surprised when David went as quickly as he did.” | “I hadn’t expected the vote to go the way it did,” she said of the EU referendum, which prompted David Cameron to stand down. “And I was then surprised when David went as quickly as he did.” |
| While saying she was “a bit shocked at what had just happened”, May said she always had an idea of how she might approach the job of prime minister. | While saying she was “a bit shocked at what had just happened”, May said she always had an idea of how she might approach the job of prime minister. |
| “It’s not about thinking what I wanted to do in a different position,” she said. “It’s about a set of values that underpin what I’ve always done in politics, what I was doing in the Home Office. Then putting those values on a wider stage.” | “It’s not about thinking what I wanted to do in a different position,” she said. “It’s about a set of values that underpin what I’ve always done in politics, what I was doing in the Home Office. Then putting those values on a wider stage.” |
| On international commerce, May said the world was seeing “some protectionist instincts starting to creep in”, which she said was a chance for the UK to champion free trade. “I think there genuinely is a real opportunity for us,” she said. “We should be around the world, promoting that message of free trade. Seeing what we can do outside [the EU].” | On international commerce, May said the world was seeing “some protectionist instincts starting to creep in”, which she said was a chance for the UK to champion free trade. “I think there genuinely is a real opportunity for us,” she said. “We should be around the world, promoting that message of free trade. Seeing what we can do outside [the EU].” |
| On a more personal note, May stressed her link to her Maidenhead constituency, saying she planned to go to church on Christmas Day before joining a church-organised lunch for old people who would otherwise be on their own. | On a more personal note, May stressed her link to her Maidenhead constituency, saying she planned to go to church on Christmas Day before joining a church-organised lunch for old people who would otherwise be on their own. |
| The prime minister also said she preferred Christmas shopping in person rather than online, noting that this year the process was “going to be more difficult than it has been previously”. | The prime minister also said she preferred Christmas shopping in person rather than online, noting that this year the process was “going to be more difficult than it has been previously”. |