Keir Starmer's government discussed moving out of 10 Downing Street

Sir Keir Starmer's government discussed moving out of Downing Street because of concerns about its suitability as a workplace, senior figures from his administration have said.

Ministers and officials from successive governments have privately complained that Number 10's rabbit-warren layout can make it harder for people working there to collaborate.

James Lyons, who served as Sir Keir's director of communications from October 2024 to September 2025, said over the weekend that moving out was something that was discussed during his time in the post. Two other senior figures confirmed that discussions were held about moving staff into an open-plan space in another government department.

One source said space inside the Foreign Office building, a short distance from Downing Street, had been considered. Both stressed that the discussions did not go beyond an early phase, and there is no suggestion that the prime minister would have stopped living in Downing Street if the plan had gone ahead.

Lyons described Number 10 as a gloomy, mice-infested, bomb-curtained rabbit warren, and said staff were deeply envious of other departments. One source said there were chats at senior staff level about moving to an open-plan office in the Foreign Office, adding that the reason for the discussion was serious, although the idea was not believed to have gone far.

The building is more than 300 years old and is an amalgamation of three houses. Lord Walker, the boss of supermarket Iceland and a former adviser to Sir Keir, told the Financial Times it should be turned into residences or a museum, calling it a national treasure and a Stuart-era building that was not fit for purpose, with tiny meeting rooms on different floors.

The revelations come as Sir Keir's successor, Andy Burnham, has created an Office for the Prime Minister in his first days in the job, bringing together Number 10, Number 10 North and other key parts of the Cabinet Office. Those around Mr Burnham say he has yet to form a view about the adequacy of Number 10 as a workplace.