Darren Jones, a member of parliament who previously served as Chief Secretary to the Treasury and deputy to Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves, has been appointed to the newly created position of Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister.
This move is intended to ensure better cooperation between the Prime Minister's Office and the Treasury.
In addition, other new faces have appeared in the Downing Street team, including economist Minouche Shafik, who has been appointed Chief Economic Advisor to the Prime Minister.
Tim Allan, a former advisor to Tony Blair, has been appointed as the new Director of Communications.
The personnel changes followed six months of criticism of Starmer over slowing economic growth, uncertainty over taxes, and chaos over planned welfare reforms.
However, Starmer emphasized that his government had entered a new phase aimed at efficiently implementing its priorities.
Meanwhile, former Conservative ministers and economic experts warn that the appointment of “left-wing tax fanatics” to the top team points to a plan for radical tax reforms.
The markets reacted with government bond yields rising to a 27-year high, meaning the government will have to pay more to finance its debt.