Grant Shapps today dismissed a fellow minister’s ban on LGBT+ lanyards in Whitehall as the Defence Secretary said he was unconcerned by staff ‘expressing their views’.
Esther McVey, known as the ‘Common Sense’ minister, sparked a backlash after she unveiled plans to ensure civil servants wear standardised lanyards in the office.
She warned officials they could be reprimanded if they refuse the order and wear lanyards of a different design – including rainbow ones promoting LGBT+ causes.
Critics have questioned why Ms McVey is making the colour of civil servants’ lanyards a priority at a time when Britain is facing a host of challenges.
And she found little support for her ban from Mr Shapps this morning, as he suggested he would not stop Ministry of Defence staff wearing rainbow lanyards.
The Defence Secretary told Times Radio: ‘Personally, I don’t mind people expressing their views on these things. What lanyard somebody wears doesn’t particularly concern me.’
Esther McVey, known as the ‘Common Sense’ minister, sparked a backlash after she unveiled plans to ensure civil servants wear standardised lanyards in the office
Ms McVey found little support for her ban from Grant Shapps this morning, as the Defence Secretary suggested he would not stop Ministry of Defence staff wearing rainbow lanyards
Ms McVey warned Whitehall officials they could be reprimanded if they refuse her order and wear lanyards of a different design – including rainbow ones promoting LGBT+ causes
But Mr Shapps added that Ms McVey ‘has a point that what we want is our civil servants to be getting on with the main job’.
‘The main job is to serve the department they work for, in my case, defence, but across Whitehall.
‘That is the main concern. I think she was getting at the idea that that should be the focus for civil servants.’
Ms McVey also faced a backlash to her plans from Andrew Boff, a leading Tory on the London Assembly.
‘Hi Esther. You can take my rainbow lanyard from my cold dead neck,’ he told the Cabinet Office minister on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Dave Penman, general secretary of the FDA union, which represents civil servants, said: ‘We’ve got delays in the courts and NHS. The jails are full, there’s a housing crisis and a war on mainland Europe.
‘Meanwhile, a minister with a made up job title is banging on about what coloured lanyard half a million civil servants can wear.’
In speech to the Centre for Policy Studies think tank yesterday, Ms McVey criticised a ‘random pick and mix’ of lanyards being worn in Whitehall.
She said these should instead be a ‘standard design reflecting we are all members of the Government delivering for the citizens of the UK’.
The Cabinet Office minister told civil servants to leave their political views at home, adding: ‘Trying to introduce them by the back door via lanyards should not happen’.
Ms McVey suggested senior Whitehall officials could take action against staff who continue to wear non-standardised lanyards, such as those with rainbow designs.
She said she wanted Whitehall offices to be ‘a happy inclusive place, not one where division can be sown and people feel pressured’.
‘I want a very simple but visible change to occur too. The lanyards worn to carry security passes shouldn’t be a random pick and mix,’ Ms McVey added.
‘They should be a standard design reflecting we are all members of the Government delivering for the citizens of the UK.
‘Working in the civil service is all about leaving your political views at the building entrance.
‘Trying to introduce them by the back door via lanyards should not happen.
‘The focus should be on a happy and inclusive working environment and increased productivity.’
In speech to the Centre for Policy Studies think tank yesterday, Ms McVey criticised a ‘random pick and mix’ of lanyards being worn in Whitehall
The Cabinet Office minister also faced a backlash to her plans from Andrew Boff, a leading Tory on the London Assembly
Ms McVey was quizzed after her speech about the prospect of civil servants wearing LGBT-coloured lanyards, or ones adorned with a Palestinian flag.
She added: ‘What we don’t need and what I’m saying is you don’t need political activism in a visible way.
‘Because for every lanyard that you show, you’re therefore not saying about all the other things you do or don’t agree with.
‘So you’re promoting one at the exclusion of other things. It is making a statement, you’re putting it on to make a statement.
‘What we’re saying is, actually, your political beliefs remain at the front door and when you come in you’re part of a happy team.
‘And it’s not to impose your views on anybody else, it’s not to be a distraction, it’s not to be about political activism.
‘That’s why I said it’s a very simple way to show there is harmony, unity and inclusivity within an organisation. So it’s a just a simple, visible difference.’
Asked what would be the consequence for staff who failed to wear standardised lanyards, Ms McVey replied: ‘That would be for the permanent secretary to do.
‘She believes people will comply and, of course, we will have provided the new lanyards so people can wear them.
‘But, as I said, people need to think to themselves why they would be doing that rather than promoting where they’re working.’
Responding to Ms McVey’s comments on X, Labour MP Ben Bradshaw posted: ‘Pathetic & retrograde. Being LGBT is not a ‘view’.’
Lucille Thirlby, assistant general secretary of the FDA union, said: ‘Nobody joins the civil service in order to ‘impose their own political ideology’, as the so-called minister for common sense put it.
‘Civil servants understand they serve the government of the day and have been doing so for a Conservative-led Government for the past 14 years.
‘At a time when the country is facing serious challenges, should the colour of a civil servant’s lanyard really be a ministerial priority?
‘Equality, diversity and inclusion is a serious topic worthy of serious consideration and debate.
‘Unfortunately, we got nothing of the sort from Esther McVey, who instead rattled off of a tick list of culture-war talking points.
‘This speech provided absolutely no details of what the Government audit of EDI roles has found or when it will be reported.
‘Once that evidence is made available, we’d welcome the opportunity to seriously discuss its findings and engage properly with the facts.’
A Cabinet Office source confirmed Ms McVey’s crackdown related solely to ‘politicised’ lanyards.
They added it would ‘definitely not’ apply to staff wearing religious symbols such as crucifix necklaces.
The source suggested guidance issued to Whitehall departments would set out how staff should wear standardised lanyards, but would not seek to ban specific designs.
And they said it was expected that staff would be ‘spoken to’ by senior managers if they continued to refuse to wear standardised lanyards.