🔗 Share this article

Prime Minister Starmer traveled to north Wales on Thursday to reveal the construction of a new nuclear power station. This is a significant policy event with implications at local and countrywide levels. Yet, the prime minister did not dedicate extensive time in Wales to advocating solutions for the UK's power requirements. Rather, he used the time attempting to put an end to the briefing controversy within Labour's leadership, telling reporters that Downing Street had not undermined the health secretary’s ambitions in recent days.

As such, Sir Keir’s day acted as a microcosm of what his premiership has evolved into overall. On the one hand, he wants his government to be doing, and to be seen to be doing, significant actions. Conversely, he is unable to achieve this due to the manner he – and, to an extent, the nation more generally – now practices politics and government.

The Prime Minister is unable to change the political culture single-handedly, but he can do something about his own role in it. The simple truth is that he could manage the centre of government much more effectively than he does. If he did this, he might find that the country was in less dismay about his administration than it currently is, and that he was communicating his points more successfully.

Personnel Problems in Downing Street

A number of the problems in Number 10 are about personnel. The interpersonal relations of any No 10 regime are hard to know well from outside. 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. But he needs to improve his performance, avoid slow progress or incompletely.

• He dithered about assigning the key job of top civil servant to Chris Wormald.
• He appointed Sue Gray his chief of staff, then replaced her with a political strategist.
• He recruited Darren Jones in from the Treasury as his deputy.
• His communications chiefs have chopped and changed.
• Advisors on politics and policy have come and gone.
• It is a mess.

Structural Challenges at the Heart of Government

Every prime minister devote excessive time overseas and on international matters, where Sir Keir should delegate more, and too little conversing with MPs and listening to the citizens. Prime ministers also spend too much time doing media, which Sir Keir compounds by doing it poorly. Yet leaders cannot claim to be surprised when their political appointees, who tend to be party loyalists or politically ambitious, cross lines or become the story, as Mr McSweeney now has.

The biggest issues, though, are systemic. It would be good to think that Sir Keir reviewed the Institute for Government’s March 2024 report on reforming the centre of government. His inability to address these matters in the summer or since implies he did not. The often abject experience of the Labour administration suggests recommendations like reorganizing the roles of the central government office and Downing Street, and dividing the positions of cabinet secretary and civil service head, are currently critical.

The dominant political role of prime ministers greatly exceeds the support available to them. Consequently, everything currently suffers, and much is done badly or ignored.

This isn't Sir Keir’s sole responsibility. He is the casualty of past failures as well as the architect of current mistakes. But those who hoped Sir Keir might get a grip on the core and prioritize governmental structures have been disappointed. Sadly, the primary casualty from this failure is Sir Keir himself.