Number 10 Downing Street Fails to Be Up to the Job

Sir Keir Starmer visited north Wales on Thursday to announce the building of a new nuclear power station. This represents a major policy announcement with both local and national implications. However, the PM did not dedicate extensive time in Wales to advocating solutions for the UK's energy needs. Rather, he spent it attempting to draw a line under the briefing controversy within Labour's leadership, informing journalists that No 10 had not undermined the health secretary's goals earlier this week.

As such, Sir Keir’s day acted as a microcosm of what his premiership has evolved into more generally. On the one hand, he desires his government to be doing, and to be perceived as performing, significant actions. On the other hand, he is incapable to achieve this due to the manner he – and, to an extent, the country as a whole – now practices political and governmental affairs.

The Prime Minister cannot transform the culture of politics single-handedly, but he is able to take action about his own role in it. The plain fact is that he could run the government's core far better than he does. Should he achieve this, he might find that the country was in less despair about his government than it currently is, and that he was getting his messages across more effectively.

Personnel Problems in No 10

Some of the issues in Number 10 relate to personnel. The interpersonal relations of any No 10 regime are hard to know accurately from the exterior. But it seems obvious that Sir Keir fails to make good personnel choices, or maintain them. Perhaps he is too busy. Perhaps he is not really interested. However, he must to up his game, not do things slowly or by halves.

• He hesitated about assigning the key job of top civil servant to Chris Wormald.
• He made a former official his top aide, then substituted her with a political strategist.
• He brought a Treasury figure in from the Treasury as his chief secretary.
• His media advisors have chopped and changed.
• Advisors on politics and policy have come and gone.
• It is a mess.

Systemic Issues at the Heart of the Administration

All premiers spend too much time overseas and on foreign affairs, areas where Sir Keir ought to assign more tasks, and too little conversing with parliamentarians and hearing the public. Prime ministers also spend too much time engaging with the press, which Sir Keir worsens by performing inadequately. But premiers cannot claim to be surprised when their political appointees, who tend to be party activists or politically ambitious, cross lines or become the story, as Mr McSweeney now has.

The most significant problems, though, are systemic. 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 afterward suggests he did not. The frequently dismal performance of Labour’s time in office indicates IfG proposals like reorganizing the functions of the Cabinet Office and No 10, and dividing the jobs of top official and civil service head, are currently critical.

The political pre-eminence of prime ministers far outdistances the assistance provided 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 past failures as well as the author of current mistakes. But those who hoped Sir Keir would take control of the centre and prioritize governmental structures have been disappointed. Unfortunately, the primary casualty from this shortcoming is Sir Keir personally.