{"id":1944,"date":"2025-09-23T22:28:35","date_gmt":"2025-09-23T22:28:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/?p=1944"},"modified":"2025-09-23T22:28:35","modified_gmt":"2025-09-23T22:28:35","slug":"starmers-number-10-media-operation-undergoes-fresh-shake-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/?p=1944","title":{"rendered":"Starmer\u2019s Number 10 media operation undergoes fresh shake-up"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Unlock the Editor\u2019s Digest for free<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__content-sign-up-topic-description o3-type-body-base\"><span>Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe class=\"article__content-sign-up-iframe close\" scrolling=\"no\" id=\"signUpIframe\" data-prev-url=\"\/register\/in-article-sign-up?ft-content-uuid=2523e874-ff10-45bb-939b-94fca35faf2f\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<div id=\"article-body\">\n<p>Sir Keir Starmer\u2019s media operation is undergoing another major shake-up as Dave Pares, the prime minister\u2019s official spokesperson, leaves Downing Street to move to a new role at the Treasury.<\/p>\n<p>Pares, a 35-year-old economist, will become director of communications at the Treasury, his old department, with a remit to sell chancellor Rachel Reeves\u2019 crucial Autumn Budget, which is expected to involve big tax rises.<\/p>\n<p>The shake-up means Starmer\u2019s troubled Number 10 operation has lost its two most senior media figures in a matter of weeks, as the prime minister attempts to regain the political initiative.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this month James Lyons, Starmer\u2019s chief political spin-doctor, left his job after less than a year in the post, to be replaced by the veteran Number 10 aide and Portland Communications founder Tim Allan.<\/p>\n<p>Pares\u2019 departure has been lamented within Downing Street, with staff saying he had been \u201cpoached\u201d by the Treasury to take up the newly created director of communications role.<\/p>\n<p>That job was established as a result of a short review of the Treasury\u2019s communications operation, ordered by Reeves, who wanted to improve her media relations as she prepares for her Budget on November 26.<\/p>\n<p>The review, conducted by Helen Bower-Easton, director of communications at the Financial Conduct Authority, proposed beefing up the Treasury\u2019s small press operation with a view to making it more \u201cstrategic\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Pares, who previously worked with Conservative chancellors George Osborne and Philip Hammond, took up his Number 10 civil service role in 2024 under the then-Tory premier Rishi Sunak. He became Starmer\u2019s official spokesperson after last year\u2019s general election. <\/p>\n<p>His return to the Treasury is intended to presage what Bower-Easton hopes will be a more \u201cstrategic and active communications function\u201d at the finance ministry, engaging with \u201cthe public, business and economic commentators\u201d, according to one government official.<\/p>\n<p>Pares has been tasked with finding \u201cnew ways\u201d to disseminate the Treasury\u2019s message, according to insiders at the department, including explaining why Reeves needs to raise taxes less than a year after she said such increases would not be necessary for the rest of the parliament.<\/p>\n<p>The chancellor, facing downgrades to official growth forecasts, is said by people briefed on her Budget preparations to be braced for a fiscal hole of up to \u00a330bn. Most of it would have to be filled by tax increases.<\/p>\n<p>Pares\u2019 move was also presented by Downing Street insiders as a further strengthening of ties between Starmer\u2019s office and the Treasury ahead of the Budget.<\/p>\n<p>Darren Jones, former Treasury chief secretary, is now Starmer\u2019s \u201cchief secretary\u201d and enforcer in Number 10. Dan York-Smith, a former Treasury official, is the prime minister\u2019s principal private secretary.<\/p>\n<p>Downing Street confirmed Pares\u2019 move but declined to comment further, and he is expected to take up his Treasury role in October.<\/p>\n<p>Tom Wells, Pares\u2019 deputy in Number 10, will take on the duties of the prime minister\u2019s official spokesperson while a permanent successor is found.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>#Starmers #Number #media #operation #undergoes #fresh #shakeup<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Unlock the Editor\u2019s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Sir Keir Starmer\u2019s media operation is undergoing another major shake-up as Dave Pares, the prime minister\u2019s official spokesperson, leaves Downing Street to move to a new role at the Treasury. Pares, a 35-year-old economist, will [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1945,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[1010,671,77,1008,1011,772,1009],"class_list":{"0":"post-1944","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-fresh","9":"tag-media","10":"tag-number","11":"tag-operation","12":"tag-shakeup","13":"tag-starmers","14":"tag-undergoes"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1944","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1944"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1944\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1945"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1944"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1944"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1944"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}