Sloppy dressers told they have to smarten up as ties are severed with ‘partygate era’
LIZ TRUSS has vowed “ties are back” at No10 as she prepares to turn her back on the casual Dominic Cummings era.
The Prime Minister has made it clear she wants to reintroduce a dress code, with officials told to wear shirts and ties as part of a new, more formal style of government.
It is in contrast with the more lighthearted atmosphere in Downing Street under Boris Johnson and his controversial chief of staff Mr Cummings.
During his time in No10, Mr Cummings shunned suits, and often wore hoodies and jeans.
Last night, a former government source said: “Most people dressed smartly under Boris but it’s true Dom always came in looking like he’d rolled off a bench.”
One government source said Ms Truss had made her views plain when she returned to Admiralty House from her victory party in the City of London, the night before she became Prime Minister. The source said: “This is all born from Liz coming back from winning and telling the staff in Admiralty House that ties were back.” It is hoped that the new smart attire will make it less likely that No10 will regain its reputation for partying, as it did following the lockdowns. Mr Johnson’s departure was provoked in part by the partygate scandals, during which he was fined for attending an event the police deemed was not for work purposes.
While he was in Downing Street, Mr Cummings wore baggy jeans, anoraks, crumpled shirts and quilted gilets. Drawing comparisons with Silicon Valley tech gurus, he was also seen in the corridors of power wearing baseball caps and shapeless T-shirts.
Ms Truss has also ordered a wider operational shake-up at Downing Street, including a new economic unit whose role is to help her take on “Treasury orthodoxy”.
She has brought in Matthew Sinclair, the former director of the Taxpayers’ Alliance, as her chief economic adviser.
This decision brings back memories of Margaret Thatcher’s appointment of adviser Alan Walters, which led eventually to the resignation of Nigel Lawson as her chancellor.
In an attempt to strengthen the relationship between Ms Truss and her most important ministers, new offices are being created in Downing Street for both Wendy Morton, the new chief whip, and Thérèse Coffey, the Deputy Prime Minister.
An aide told The Spectator: “We’ve blown up the No10 floor plan,” saying the idea is to create a leaner, nimbler operation.