Sir Chris Wormald, the former head of the civil service, has officially taken his seat in the House of Lords as an independent crossbench peer.
Lord Wormald completed a brief introduction ceremony on Thursday morning while wearing traditional scarlet robes. He made a solemn affirmation declaring that he would be faithful and bear true allegiance to King Charles, his heirs and successors, according to law.
Career across Whitehall
Lord Wormald began his civil service career in 1991 through the fast stream recruitment scheme at what was then the Department of Education and Science. He later held postings at the Department for Communities and Local Government and the Cabinet Office.
In 2010, he became head of the deputy prime minister’s office when Nick Clegg served alongside Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton. He returned to the Department for Education as permanent secretary in 2012 and took over at the Department for Health and Social Care in 2016, where he served under seven health secretaries.
He was appointed to replace Lord Case as Cabinet secretary in December 2024 and led the civil service for 14 months during Sir Keir Starmer’s premiership. He had earlier served as head of both the Department for Health and Social Care and the Department for Education.
Departure and severance package
Lord Wormald and Sir Keir Starmer reached a mutual decision for him to step down in February this year, with Dame Antonia Romeo named as his successor.
According to the Cabinet Office’s annual report and accounts released earlier this week, he was granted an £859,496 severance package when his tenure as Cabinet secretary ended. The payout, of nearly £860,000, is believed to be a record figure and far exceeds the £457,000 given to Sir Tom Scholar after Liz Truss removed him as Treasury chief in 2022.
When Lord Wormald was appointed Cabinet secretary, Sir Keir said there was “no-one better placed” than him to assist with a “complete re-wiring of the British state to deliver bold and ambitious long-term reform”.
However, by late 2025, Downing Street insiders described Lord Wormald as “a parody of every civil service stereotype”, according to The Times. Former Cabinet secretary Lord O’Donnell criticised the anonymous briefings as “shabby” and warned that they represented some of the “biggest failings” of Sir Keir Starmer’s two-year premiership.
Six new peers introduced
Lord Wormald was one of six peers introduced to the House of Lords this week. Sir Brian Leveson joined the crossbenches on Monday as Lord Leveson of Liverpool, while the mayor of London joined the Labour benches on Tuesday as Lord Khan of Tooting.
New Labour peers Lord McTague and Lord Neri, along with Liberal Democrat peer Lord McCobb, were also welcomed to the chamber.
Source: The Independent UK
