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But just because O’Donnell has retired doesn’t mean Hodge has a clear road to reform. In this week’s cover piece, Quentin Letts examines O’Donnell’s successor — Jeremy Heywood — and doesn’t much
like what he sees:
‘Sir J. Heywood is a backstairs Bertie, a smudger, a whisper-in-the-PM’s-ear sort who shrivels from public view. The worry for Conservatives, and the rest of us, is that this
shrewd murmurer, this eminence grease, has acquired unprecedented power over not only the Prime Minister but also Nick Clegg, Cabinet, the coalition and much of the rest of the state apparat.
There is talk of Heywood obstructing secretaries of state, shafting Cameroons and organising Downing Street to his own convenience. We have gone beyond “Yes, Minister” and now have
“Yes, Sir Jeremy”. Worryingly, no one seems more in hock to him than our soigné, someone-take-care-of-that PM.’
Because you read about government
Also by Sebastian Payne
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