Andy Burnham, the likely next prime minister, has chosen his friend and former cabinet minister James Purnell as his chief of staff. The appointment has sparked unease among Labour MPs because Purnell was until recently chief executive of Flint Global, a lobbying firm whose clients included BP, Amazon, and Uber. But what exactly does a Downing Street chief of staff do, and why does this appointment matter?
The chief of staff role is a relatively recent invention in British government, created on the fly and carrying no official job description. Yet it has been crucial to the success of the only two prime ministers this century who have served a full parliamentary term: Tony Blair and David Cameron. According to Gavin Barwell, who served as Theresa May’s chief of staff from 2017 to 2019, the primary responsibility is “to keep their boss in office.” This involves enforcing the prime minister’s priorities across government, managing the political team in Number 10, and — crucially — telling the prime minister hard truths. Barwell wrote in his memoir that “very few people are prepared to say no to the prime minister or tell them something they don’t want to hear.”
“Explains the role of Downing Street chief of staff and the controversy over James Purnell's appointment.”
The role has been unstable under the current prime minister, Keir Starmer. He started with veteran civil servant Sue Gray, then sacked her after a few months and replaced her with political strategist Morgan McSweeney. McSweeney resigned after controversy over advice on the choice of ambassador to the US. In Starmer’s final months, two aides held the role on an interim basis. The position’s fragility highlights how much depends on the trust and chemistry between the PM and their chief of staff.
Purnell’s appointment tells us about Burnham’s intentions. He has known Burnham for about 30 years — they were friends, football teammates, and colleagues in Gordon Brown’s cabinet. Since leaving politics, Purnell has held senior management roles outside government, including leading Flint Global. That company is a registered lobbyist, with EU transparency records showing it was paid over €1 million by Apple in its last reported year. Other clients included Google, Microsoft, and Glencore. Although Purnell has given up his shares and left Flint, and a Burnham spokesperson said “he will have no ongoing financial interest in the company of any kind,” the lobbying links have caused consternation among Labour left supporters. One Burnham-supporting MP described the pick as “a very bad sign that he is not thinking things through enough.”
For UK readers, this matters because the chief of staff is one of the most powerful unelected figures in government. They shape the PM’s agenda, manage crises, and decide who gets access to the premier. If Burnham becomes prime minister as expected by mid-July, his chief of staff will help decide everything from whether to pursue greater regulation of big tech and AI to who gets which cabinet job. Already speculation is rife about Burnham’s potential cabinet: Ed Miliband is expected to be kept on or promoted, Shabana Mahmood might stay as home secretary, and Wes Streeting could be rewarded with a big role. The chief of staff will be central to those decisions.
Q: Why is James Purnell’s lobbying background controversial? Flint Global, where Purnell was chief executive, is a registered lobbyist whose clients included BP, Amazon, Uber, and Google. Critics worry that someone so closely tied to corporate lobbying could influence government policy in favour of those companies. Purnell has given up his shares and left the firm, but the appointment has still been criticised as a “very bad sign” by some Labour MPs.
Q: What are the main responsibilities of a Downing Street chief of staff? The chief of staff’s core job is to keep the prime minister in office by enforcing their priorities across government, managing political advisers, and acting as the PM’s most senior political confidant. They also need to be willing to tell the prime minister unwelcome truths, something few other staffers will do.
Q: How does Purnell compare to previous chiefs of staff? Unlike Sue Gray (a Whitehall troubleshooter) or Morgan McSweeney (a political strategist), Purnell combines ministerial experience — he served in Gordon Brown’s cabinet — with senior management experience outside government, including running a major lobbying firm. That mix could help him manage both government machinery and political strategy.
What happens next: Burnham is expected to become prime minister by mid-July, after which he will formally appoint Purnell as chief of staff. Purnell will then help shape Burnham’s cabinet and policy agenda. The controversy over his lobbying links is likely to persist, especially as Burnham’s team has said any future conflicts of interest will be “appropriately managed” without giving details.