Steve Barclay is now Chief of Staff at No 10, Chancellor for the Duchy of Lancaster, and MP for North East Cambridgeshire
The new chief of staff at Number 10 now has three jobs after he was appointed as Boris Johnson’s top aide.
Following an exodus of senior advisers from Downing Street in the aftermath of the ‘partygate’ scandal, the prime minister gave Steve Barclay the role of his new top aide.
But some have raised concerns over how he’s going to manage given the fact that it means he now has three full-time roles.
Along with his role as Number 10 chief of staff, Barclay is also the Chancellor for the Duchy of Lancaster and MP for North East Cambridgeshire.
As part of his role as chief of staff, Barclay will be “in charge of integrating the new Office of the Prime Minister and the Cabinet Office, driving the government’s agenda more efficiently and ensuring it is better aligned with the cabinet and backbenchers.”
His appointment was mocked by Labour, who tried to get Barclay to attend the House of Commons on Monday to explain his new Number position.
However, he didn’t turn up, prompting cries of “Where is he, then?” from Labour MPs, Sky News reports.
Angela Rayner said that Barclay’s “very first act is refusing even to turn up here to explain his own job,” and asked whether he was “still in charge of dealing with the Channel crossings, tackling the pandemic, protecting the Union, veterans policy and every other priority of the Cabinet Office?”
Barclay’s appointment has also been questioned by previous holders of the role, who have said they are unsure how he will be able to juggle all of his positions.
Jonathan Powell, who held the role under Tony Blair, tweeted that he can “think of no democracy where the chief of staff can also be in the legislature.”
He added: “I found being No 10 chief of staff a full-time job. Not sure how it could be combined with representing a constituency. And having to go to answer parliamentary questions about the PM would be tricky.”
Steve Barclay MP as Chief of Staff? Does he resign as an MP? Or is he answerable to Parliament? I can think of no democracy where the chief of staff can also be in the legislature. Thread
— Jonathan Powell (@jnpowell1) February 5, 2022
And one of Theresa May’s chief of staff during her time as PM, Nick Timothy, tweeted that he was “not sure having a chief of staff who’s also a minister elsewhere can work.”
The last incumbent wasn’t allowed to be a chief, this one isn’t really staff. Barclay is very talented, but not sure having a chief of staff who’s also a minister elsewhere can work.
— Nick Timothy (@NJ_Timothy) February 5, 2022
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