Overview
- Paul Ovenden, once Starmer’s director of strategy, argues Whitehall has morphed into a “Stakeholder State” that shifts power away from voters and leaves ministers “emasculated.”
- He portrays Alaa Abd el‑Fattah’s readmission as an ill‑judged priority and a “running joke” inside No 10, highlighting past posts that drew condemnation.
- The Times’ editorial endorses the critique and presses the prime minister to take on quangos, regulators, and the machinery of consultations and reviews.
- Ovenden urges Labour to use its mandate to scrap the pensions triple lock, overhaul welfare, ease business regulation, and cut green energy subsidies.
- Ovenden’s intervention follows his September resignation over messages about Diane Abbott; Starmer has voiced frustration over delivery, Yvette Cooper has ordered a review into missed vetting of Abd el‑Fattah’s posts, and no concrete Whitehall reforms have been announced.