I hope I don’t sound jealous when I point out that Simon Case did not join the Civil Service until 2007 and yet was its head by 2020. He is not yet 45. He moved up the pecking order very quickly and moved around very quickly, the sure mark of someone aiming for the top. But even so reaching the top with 13 years is worrying.
Leaving aside all the criticism of his part in the chaotic Johnson, Truss and now Sunak administrations, it has long been my contention that he is just too young for the job. He needs to have run some major departments, he needs at least another 10 years experience, no matter how brilliant he is.
You see this is the private sector too, whizz kids who are too old for the top job by 40. Just look at the credit crunch, the banks were run by inexperienced, untrained, unqualified, young, idiots, who thought they were geniuses.
Mr. Case is supposed to be the man standing up to politicians and telling them what is possible and what isn’t, and then enforcing their decisions in an efficient and legal manner.
He is now in charge of a civil service that senior government figures claim is biased, treacherous, and lazy. Where senior civil servants can be fired for telling the truth and warning ministers they are heading for the rocks, where there are numerous cases of bullying and blatant attempts to break the law.
I would suggest that the simple fact is that Mr. Case’s successor needs to be at least 10 years older than he is and no I am not available.
Economics, trade and Brexit, not necessarily in that order but the dog always comes first.
I would also point out that when you have experience folk running say, a bank like First Republic, it doesn't matter how experienced you are if rumors cause your entire portfolio to abandon ship (which is not a knock on experienced civil servants, just to point out that maybe their political masters need some seasoning too).