Bob Kerslake, a former head of the UK’s civil service and permanent secretary at the Department for Communities and Local Government, has died after being diagnosed with cancer.
In a sad announcement released into the public space by his sister Ros Kerslake, she said: “My brother Bob (Lord Robert Kerslake) died yesterday after a short battle with cancer. We are all devastated.”
Following the announcement, several lawmakers offered Lord Kerslake tribute. After a lengthy career in local government, British prime minister David Cameron described him as a “committed public official” who “served the coalition government with great professionalism.”
Senior Labour Party members who paid their respects to him included the party’s leader, Keir Starmer, the shadow health minister, Wes Streeting, and the previous shadow chancellor, John McDonnell. He was referred to as “a true public servant” by London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, who also said that “his kindness and commitment to improving our city and country will always be remembered.”
Kerslake was described as “a kind, thoughtful, and genuine public servant who cares deeply about people” by Lisa Nandy, the shadow secretary for levelling up, housing, and communities. Bob was a never-ending source of guidance and inspiration, and his expertise in both national and local politics was unmatched.
He had spoken out more frequently in recent years on issues with the civil service’s interaction with the government. He discussed how the Partygate affair had “damaged the public’s perception of the civil service” in a February 2022 article for the Guardian.
“Trust is a precious commodity that takes a long time to build and is quickly lost,” he wrote.
“There is no doubt that Partygate has significantly reinforced the decline in trust between the governing and the governed. The job of being a civil servant has been made a lot harder.”
Prior to his resignation in 2017 in protest at the government’s underfunding of hospitals, Kerslake served as chair of the NHS Foundation Trust for King’s College Hospital. In addition, he served as chair of the UK2070 Commission, an independent investigation into urban and regional disparities in the UK, and as president of the Local Government Association from 2015 to 2021.
Kerslake, who was raised in Bath, Somerset, graduated from Warwick University with a degree in mathematics and had a number of positions in local government before being appointed chief executive of the London borough of Hounslow.
