10 Downing Street Fails to Be Capable of the Task

Sir Keir Starmer visited Wales' northern region on Thursday to reveal the construction of a new nuclear power station. This is a major policy announcement 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 energy needs. Instead, he spent it trying to put an end to the briefing controversy within Labour's leadership, telling reporters that No 10 had not briefed against the health secretary’s ambitions earlier this week.

Therefore, Sir Keir’s day acted as a small-scale example of what his premiership has evolved into overall. Firstly, he wants his administration to be performing, and to be perceived as performing, important things. On the other hand, he is unable to achieve this because of the manner he – and, to an extent, the country as a whole – now practices political and governmental affairs.

Sir Keir cannot transform the culture of politics on his own, but he can take action about his own role in it. The simple truth is that he could manage the government's core much more effectively than he does. Should he achieve this, he could discover that the nation was in less dismay about his administration than it is, and that he was getting his messages across more effectively.

Personnel Problems in No 10

Some of the problems in Downing Street are about individuals. The personal dynamics of every Downing Street operation are difficult to discern accurately from the exterior. But it seems obvious that Sir Keir fails to make good personnel choices, or stick with them. Maybe he is overly occupied. Perhaps he is not really interested. But he needs to improve his performance, avoid slow progress or incompletely.

• He hesitated about assigning the crucial role of top civil servant to a senior official.
• He appointed a former official his chief of staff, then replaced her with Morgan McSweeney.
• He recruited a Treasury figure in from the finance ministry as his chief secretary.
• His communications chiefs have chopped and changed.
• Political and policy advisers have entered and exited.
• The situation is chaotic.

Systemic Issues at the Heart of Government

Every prime minister devote excessive time abroad and on foreign affairs, areas where Sir Keir ought to assign more tasks, and too little conversing with MPs and listening to the citizens. Prime ministers also allocate too much time engaging with the press, which Sir Keir compounds by performing inadequately. Yet leaders cannot express surprise when their political appointees, who tend to be party loyalists or politically ambitious, cross lines or become the focus, as Mr McSweeney now has.

The biggest issues, however, are structural. It would be beneficial to believe that Sir Keir reviewed the Institute for Government’s March 2024 report on reforming the centre of government. His inability to address these matters last July or since suggests he did not. The often abject performance of Labour’s time in office indicates recommendations like restructuring the roles of the Cabinet Office and Downing Street, and dividing the jobs of cabinet secretary and head of the civil service, are currently critical.

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

This isn't Sir Keir’s fault alone. He is the casualty 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 disappointed. Unfortunately, the biggest loser from this failure is Sir Keir himself.