Energy and health optimism help lift civil service morale under Labour

The Guardian - World NewsCenter-LeftEN 2 min read 100% complete by Rowena Mason Whitehall editorJanuary 12, 2026 at 08:00 AM

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A Whitehall monitor report by the Institute for Government (IfG) found that civil service morale rose slightly in 2024 after Labour took power. The annual survey, which measures civil servants' feelings about their organization, showed an increase in the employee engagement index from 60.7% to 61.2%. The Departments of Health and Social Care, and Energy Security and Net Zero saw the largest improvements in morale. In contrast, the Foreign Office, HM Revenue and Customs, the Ministry of Defence, and the Department for Transport experienced declines, with the transport department showing the largest drop. Experts had anticipated a morale boost under Labour after years of governmental instability. The survey was conducted in autumn 2024, before Keir Starmer's critical comments about some civil servants.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

Foreign Office (UK) 50% Keir Starmer 50% Department for Transport (UK) 50% Ministry of Defence (UK) 50% HM Revenue and Customs (UK) 50% Cabinet Office (UK) 60% Ed Miliband 70% Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (UK) 70% Wes Streeting 70% Department of Health and Social Care (UK) 70% Institute for Government (IfG) ×280% Labour Party (UK) ×390%

Keywords

civil service morale 100% employee engagement 70% labour 70% energy 60% health 60% government departments 50% whitehall 50% department for energy security 40% department of health 40%

Sentiment Analysis

Positive

Score: 0.20

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Source

The Guardian - World News

Political Lean

Center-Left (-0.40)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

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civil service morale employee engagement labour energy health government departments whitehall department for energy security department of health

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