| Downing Street Chief of Staff | |
|---|---|
.svg) | |
since 8 February 2026 | |
| Office of the Prime Minister | |
| Style | Downing Street Chief of Staff |
| Type | Political Advisor |
| Reports to | Prime Minister |
| Seat | Downing Street |
| Appointer | Prime Minister |
| Formation | 4 May 1979 |
| First holder | David Wolfson |
| Salary | £170,000 per annum[2] |
| Website | 10 Downing Street |
TheDowning Street chief of staff is the most seniorpolitical appointee in theOffice of the prime minister of theUnited Kingdom, acting as a senior aide to theprime minister of the United Kingdom. The holder of the office retains a highly powerful, non-ministerial position withinHis Majesty's Government.
The role of chief of staff initially had executive authority, vested by the prime minister, and at the time of its inception, was referred to as the most powerful unelected official in the UK and possibly ranked third in government, after the elected prime minister and thechancellor of the exchequer.[3] Since 2007, the role does not have legal or executive authority, although the post holder remains, by definition, the senior adviser to the prime minister, and controls access to the prime minister and their staff.
From 1997 to 2019, and from November 2020, the title of chief of staff has been held by the most seniorspecial adviser at Downing Street.Steve Barclay, theMember of Parliament forNorth East Cambridgeshire, served as chief of staff from February 2022 to July 2022, following the resignation ofDan Rosenfield. He was the first MP to serve in this capacity, and also retained his position asChancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and a Cabinet minister, compounding the chief of staff's power and access in UK Government. On 24 July 2019,Dominic Cummings was appointed as a senior adviser to Prime Minister Boris Johnson and was described as the de facto chief of staff from 24 July 2019 to 13 November 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The most recent Downing Street chief of staff wasMorgan McSweeney, who was appointed to the position in October 2024[4] and resigned on 8 February 2026.[5]
The chief of staff is an appointedspecial advisor or a career civil servant who is personally and politically close to the prime minister. The responsibilities of the post have varied according to the wishes of the sitting prime minister. Since the chief of staff is at the centre of the Downing Street operation, he or she will always be influential and closely involved in government policy formulation and implementation, political strategy and communication, and generally advising the prime minister, in conjunction with their wider "ministerial adviser" colleagues.
The first official chief of staff in 10 Downing Street wasDavid Wolfson, underMargaret Thatcher from 1979 to 1985.[6] The position of Downing Street Chief of Staff was recreated byTony Blair upon his becoming prime minister in1997[citation needed] andJonathan Powell held the post for ten years.
In 1997Tony Blair gave his chief of staff, a special advisor, 'unprecedented powers' to issue orders to civil servants.[7] Previously theCabinet secretary had been the most senior non-ministerial figure in the British Government, and along with theprincipal private secretary to the prime minister had supported the prime minister in the running of 10 Downing Street. Following the creation of the role, the chief of staff supplanted the principal private secretary in running Downing Street operations and effectively replaced the power of the Cabinet secretary in terms of co-ordinating government policy.
Although the Cabinet secretary continued to be a highly important role, through remaining responsible for making sure that the civil service was organised effectively and was capable of delivering the Government's objectives,[8] the chief of staff replaced the Cabinet Secretary as the "right-hand man" for the prime minister.[9] "Powell had been at the epicentre of power. As Tony Blair's chief of staff, he was the ultimate fixer, the prime minister's first line of defence against events, baby-catcher in chief. When things went wrong, people called Powell."[10]
When Powell stood down as chief of staff at the end of the Blair premiership in June 2007, the incoming prime minister,Gordon Brown, temporarily appointedcivil servantTom Scholar as both Downing Street chief of staff and principal private secretary to the prime minister. This was changed upon Scholar's scheduled departure in January 2008, when the title chief of staff was divided amongst two posts in an attempt to split the political policy communication role from the management of civil servants withinNumber 10.[11] As such, senior civil servantJeremy Heywood replaced Scholar as principal private secretary to the prime minister, a position he had held under Tony Blair several years earlier, with the role of chief of strategy and principal advisor to the prime minister (effectively chief of staff) being given to political advisorStephen Carter.[11][12]
After less than a year in the post Carter resigned, becoming a minister and receiving a peerage amid speculation that his 'chief of strategy' role had insufficient authority to direct cross-government operations;[13] the position of chief of staff remained vacant for the remainder of the Brown Premiership.[14] UponDavid Cameron becoming prime minister in May 2010, Conservative advisorEdward Llewellyn was appointed as Downing Street chief of staff. Cameron also created the role of Downing Street deputy chief of staff, with responsibility for supporting the chief of staff, which was given toCatherine Fall.[15]
Theresa May appointed two joint chiefs of staff inNick Timothy andFiona Hill upon becoming prime minister in 2016.[16] Former ministerGavin Barwell succeeded Timothy and Hill after the2017 general election.[17] The formal title was out of use between July 2019 and November 2020, under prime ministerBoris Johnson, when the role was overseen byDominic Cummings as chief adviser andEdward Lister as chief strategic adviser.[18] However, during this time, Cummings was noted to be thede facto chief of staff.[19][20][21] When Cummings departed Downing Street, Johnson appointed Lister as acting chief of staff.[22]
Lister was succeeded byDan Rosenfield on a permanent basis.[23] In February 2022, following months of scandal owing toPartygate, Rosenfield, alongside other senior aidesMartin Reynolds,Munira Mirza and Jack Doyle, resigned.[24] He was replaced bySteve Barclay, the first MP to hold the position. Barclay served concurrently asChancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, giving him notable power over Whitehall operations.[25]
Five months later, the resignation ofSajid Javid during theJuly 2022 United Kingdom government crisis caused a vacancy in the office ofSecretary of State for Health and Social Care, which Barclay was appointed to fill shortly prior toBoris Johnson's resignation asprime minister. While no successor was formally appointed,Simone Finn, Baroness Finn held the role in ade facto, acting capacity.
On 6 September 2022Mark Fullbrook, a veteran Conservative party strategist was installed in the role as part of the incomingTruss ministry.[26] UponRishi Sunak becoming prime minister on 25 October 2022, he installed long-term adviserLiam Booth-Smith as chief of staff, making Fullbrook the shortest-serving chief of staff in the office's history.[27]
| Chief of Staff | Term of office | Duration | Peerage | Party | Ministry | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| David Wolfson | May 4, 1979 | September 2, 1985 | 6 years, 121 days | Baron Wolfson of Sunningdale | Conservative | Thatcher I Thatcher II | |||
| Vacant 2 September 1985 – 2 May 1997 Variousde facto Chiefs of Staff | Thatcher II Thatcher III Major I Major II | ||||||||
 | Jonathan Powell | May 2, 1997 | June 27, 2007 | 10 years, 56 days | Labour | Blair I Blair II Blair III | |||
.jpg) | Tom Scholar | June 27, 2007 | January 23, 2008 | 210 days | Independent | Brown | |||
| Vacant 23 January 2008 – 11 May 2010[14][note 1] Stephen Carter served as Chief of Strategy and Principal Adviser to the Prime Minister from 23 January to 10 October 2008. Jeremy Heywood served as the 'de facto' Chief of Staff from 10 October 2008 to 11 May 2010. | |||||||||
 | Edward Llewellyn | May 11, 2010 | July 13, 2016 | 6 years, 63 days | Baron Llewellyn of Steep | Conservative | Cameron–Clegg | ||
| Cameron II | |||||||||
 | Fiona Hill | July 14, 2016 | June 9, 2017 | 330 days | [note 2] | May I | |||
| Nick Timothy | |||||||||
 | Gavin Barwell | June 10, 2017 | July 24, 2019 | 2 years, 44 days | Baron Barwell | May II | |||
| Vacant 24 July 2019 – 13 November 2020 Dominic Cummings as chief adviser to the prime minister of the United Kingdom andEdward Lister as chief strategic adviser | Johnson I | ||||||||
 | Edward Lister, Baron Udny-Lister (Acting) | November 13, 2020 | January 1, 2021 | 49 days | Conservative | Johnson II | |||
 | Dan Rosenfield | January 1, 2021 | February 5, 2022 | 1 year, 35 days | Baron Rosenfield | Independent | |||
.jpg) | Steve Barclay MP | February 5, 2022 | July 5, 2022 | 150 days | Conservative | ||||
 | Simone Finn, Baroness Finn (acting; de facto) | July 5, 2022 | September 6, 2022 | 63 days | |||||
 | Mark Fullbrook | September 6, 2022 | October 25, 2022 | 49 days | Truss | ||||
 | Liam Booth-Smith | October 25, 2022 | July 5, 2024 | 1 year, 254 days | Baron Booth-Smith | Sunak | |||
_official_portrait_(cropped).jpg) | Sue Gray | July 5, 2024 | October 6, 2024 | 93 days | Baroness Gray of Tottenham | Labour | Starmer | ||
| Morgan McSweeney | October 6, 2024 | February 8, 2026 | 1 year, 132 days | ||||||
| Vidhya Alakeson | February 8, 2026 | Incumbent | 7 days | ||||||
| Jill Cuthbertson | |||||||||
| Buildings |  .jpg) | |
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| Residence | ||
| Prime Minister's Office | ||
| Miscellaneous | ||