Labour echoes Dominic Cummings’ drive to recruit ‘weirdos and misfits’ into Whitehall

A top minister has namechecked Dominic Cummings’ drive for weirdos to join the civil service – but said he isn’t expecting the controversial former aide to apply.

In a speech on shaking up Whitehall, Cabinet Office Minister Pat McFadden echoed Mr Cummings’ callout for “super-talented weirdos” to work for Boris Johnson back in 2020. The widely-mocked call was made in a typically rambling 2,900-word blog post – and attracted an unsuccessful application from spoon-bender Uri Geller.

Mr Cummings declared war on Whitehall during his short stint in No10 and has long argued that “failure is normal” in the civil service. Keir Starmer lent into this idea in a speech last week where he accused officials getting too comfortable with the “tepid bath of managed decline”. Privately, Government figures have expressed frustration with officials over the pace of delivery.

However the PM praised the “sense of public service” in the civil service the next day after a backlash from unions who accused him of making “Trumpian” remarks.

Mr McFadden told an audience in east London: “You might remember a few years ago, there was a call for weirdos and misfits in the system. Well, whatever term you want to use, we do want innovators and disrupters and original thinkers.

“My message to creative thinkers is this is your chance to serve your country, use your brain power, your technological talents, to fix some of the biggest problems we face today. Britain needs you, and if you choose to serve I want government to empower you to help us deliver, to move fast and build things.”

Asked if he would give a job to Mr Cummings, the minister said: “As to Dominic Cummings‘ future, that’s a matter for him. I’m not expecting an application.”

Mr McFadden insisted he wasn’t criticising civil servants, saying: “The people are good, but the systems and structures that they work in are too often outdated.” However he set out plans to bring in fresh faces from outside Whitehall, with plans to recruit tech whizzes for “tours of duty” and invitations for frontline workers to help shape policy.

He acknowledged that “tour of duty” salaries would not match what people can earn in tech and start-up jobs. “Many of the people probably could earn more work in private sector, so they are appealing to their sense of public service,” he said.

Asked if he would take inspiration from Elon Musk’s department of government efficiency in the US, Mr McFadden said “Let’s see how he gets on. One thing that’s clear is, in the technological world and in the industrial world, he’s been an incredible innovator, and he’s managed to do things in new ways. So let us see how that works out.”