Labour donor bags plum UK Treasury job

LONDON — A banker who donated over £20,000 to prominent Labour figures and worked for the party in the months leading up to the election has been given a top civil service job in Britain’s finance ministry. 
Ian Corfield, who most recently donated thousands of pounds to now-Chancellor Rachel Reeves, became a director in the U.K.’s Treasury this July, according to his LinkedIn.
The British system draws a sharp distinction between civil servants, who work for governments of all stripes, and political advisers. Civil servants are subject to strict impartiality rules meant to prevent their political persuasions affecting their work.
Britain has no rules around donors or people affiliated with political parties becoming senior civil servants, only that appointments follow civil service procedure in being open and fair.
There is no suggestion any rules have been broken by Corfield, Reeves, or the Labour Party, however, his appointment does throw a spotlight on civil service impartiality.
Corfield joined the department after working as a senior business adviser to the Labour Party between January 2024 and July 2024.
In total, he has donated more than £20,000 to Labour party politicians and activists over the last nine years, according to the Electoral Commission. He made these donations while holding roles in the private sector, including as chief commercial officer at U.K. credit card issuer NewDay, until April 2024, and before that senior executive roles at Australian banks Aussie and Bankwest. Corfield is also a trustee of the cross-party think tank Demos. 
Most recently, he donated £5,000 to Reeves when she was in opposition in the summer of 2023. He also donated a total of £13,000 to Tom Watson and £2,220 to Rebecca Bailey, a well-known Labour activist, usually called Bex Bailey. The Electoral Commission previously identified the recipient of the £2,200 donation as Labour MP Rebecca Long-Bailey but corrected its record on Aug. 20 after the error was flagged by the MP following publication of this story.
The director role is a senior civil service position in government departments, junior only to the permanent secretary and directors general, and has a pay range of £97,000 to £162,500. Usually these upper rungs of the civil service are held by career civil servants, though external appointments aren’t unheard of. 
The government must meet stringent requirements when appointing senior civil servants, including holding a transparent and fair process that’s open to competition. The civil service watchdog, the Civil Service Commission, must also approve senior appointments. 
But the watchdog also has an “exceptions” rule. It allows appointments to be made outside the usual process, and can apply in the case of temporary hires, secondments, or if an individual has highly specialist skills. The Civil Service Commission told POLITICO Corfield’s hire was approved under this rule.
“This temporary appointment was approved by the Commission, recognising the need for the Civil Service to quickly bring in relevant skills for a fixed term. All appointments by exception are reminded of their responsibilities under the Civil Service Code to act with impartiality, objectivity, integrity and honesty,” the Civil Service Commission said in a statement.
A government spokesperson said: “Any appointments are made in line with the civil service rules on recruitment.”
“There isn’t anything in the political finance laws we enforce that prohibits a civil servant from donating to a political party,” said a spokesperson for the Electoral Commission.
Andrew Griffith, the Tory shadow tech secretary, who wrote to Britain’s top civil servant about a previous appointment in the U.K.’s tech department, said Corfield’s hiring “shows an alarming fact pattern emerging.”
“In each case there appears to be a fact pattern of political donations followed by the dispensation of the normal, open, transparent and fair civil service appointment process in favour of a Labour supporter,” Griffith said, referring to the two recent appointments.
“There is a real question here about the role of permanent secretaries in upholding the independence of civil service and ensuring fair opportunities for advancement are given to junior staff,” he added.
Alex Thomas, program director at the Institute for Government, said: “The proximity in terms of timing of the Labour affiliation and the giving of donations, makes it even more important that a merit-based recruitment process is followed and the Civil Service Commission was happy, in order to quell any perception that donations were traded for jobs.” 
The Labour Party did not provide a comment. Ian Corfield did not respond to a request for comment.
The Treasury did not respond directly to questions about Corfield’s appointment.
This article has been updated following a correction by the Electoral Commission on Aug. 20. Labour activist Rebecca Bailey was the recipient of the £2,200 donation from Ian Corfield, not Labour MP Rebecca Long-Bailey as initially stated by the Commission.