Number 10 Downing St Is Not Capable of the Task

Sir Keir Starmer visited Wales' northern region this past Thursday to announce the development of a new nuclear power station. This represents a major policy announcement with implications at local and countrywide levels. Yet, the prime minister did not dedicate extensive time in Wales to advocating answers for the UK's energy needs. Instead, he used the time trying to put an end to the briefing controversy within Labour's leadership, informing journalists that Downing Street had not undermined the health secretary’s ambitions in recent days.

As such, Sir Keir’s day served as a microcosm of what his premiership has now become overall. Firstly, he wants his government to be performing, and to be perceived as performing, important things. On the other hand, he is unable to achieve this due to the manner he – and, partly, the nation more generally – now practices political and governmental affairs.

Sir Keir cannot change the political culture on his own, but he can do something about his own role in it. The plain fact is that he could manage the centre of government far better than he currently does. Should he achieve this, he might find that the nation was in less despair about his government than it currently is, and that he was communicating his points more effectively.

Personnel Problems in Downing Street

A number of the problems in Downing Street relate to individuals. The interpersonal relations of any No 10 regime are difficult to discern accurately from the exterior. Yet it appears clear that Sir Keir does not make good personnel choices, or maintain them. Maybe he is overly occupied. Possibly he lacks genuine interest. However, he must to up his game, not do things slowly or incompletely.

• He hesitated about assigning the key job of cabinet secretary to Chris Wormald.
• He made a former official his top aide, then replaced her with a political strategist.
• He brought Darren Jones in from the Treasury as his deputy.
• His communications chiefs have been frequently replaced.
• Political and policy advisers have entered and exited.
• It is a mess.

Structural Challenges at the Heart of Government

Every prime minister devote excessive time abroad and on foreign affairs, where Sir Keir should delegate more, and too little talking to MPs and hearing the public. Premiers also allocate too much time doing media, which Sir Keir worsens by doing it poorly. Yet leaders cannot claim to be surprised when their political appointees, who are often party activists or politically ambitious, overstep boundaries or become the focus, as Mr McSweeney now has.

The biggest issues, though, are structural. It would be good to believe that Sir Keir read the a think tank's spring 2024 report on overhauling the government's central operations. His failure to address these matters in the summer or since implies he did not. The frequently dismal performance of the Labour administration indicates recommendations like restructuring the roles of the central government office and Downing Street, and dividing the positions of cabinet secretary and civil service head, are now urgent.

The dominant political role of prime ministers far outdistances the support available to them. As a result, everything currently suffers, and many tasks are poorly executed or neglected.

This is not Sir Keir’s fault alone. He is the victim of previous shortcomings along with the architect of present ones. Yet individuals who expected Sir Keir might get a grip on the core and take the machinery of government seriously have been let down. Unfortunately, the primary casualty from this failure is Sir Keir personally.