Steadying the ship

Cabinet old-hand popular among backbenchers

Steve Barclay, the new No10 chief of staff, will hope his links with Tory backbenchers will help the Prime Minister reset his administration after letters to the 1922 Committee calling for his resignation. As Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, he has served from 70 Whitehall, the building next to Downing Street that co-ordinates crossdepartmental policy work and helps manage the response to the Covid crisis.

Although he retains his title alongside his new role next door, Mr Barclay will hand daily responsibilities for the Cabinet Office to his junior ministers – Michael Ellis, Leo Docherty and Lord True.

His new role will require him to steady the ship in Downing Street, adapt to the addition of Andrew Griffith as policy chief and manage a “reset” that officials hope will take attention away from “partygate”.

Mr Barclay is well-liked among backbenchers, after rising to prominence as Theresa May’s Brexit Secretary. He has built a relationship with Rishi Sunak as a Treasury minister – the position he held until the last reshuffle. Despite speculation about the Chancellor’s leadership ambitions – heightened by his criticism of Boris Johnson’s suggestion that Sir Keir Starmer was responsible for the failure to prosecute Jimmy Savile – he is also viewed as a loyal ally of No10. He will work with several friends of his predecessor as Cabinet Office minister, Michael Gove. His deputy, Baroness Finn, is a former partner of Mr Gove and has formed an alliance with Henry Newman, Mr Gove’s former special adviser who works as another senior figure in Downing Street but is said to be returning to work for his former boss.