🔗 Share this article

Prime Minister Starmer visited north Wales this past Thursday to announce the building of a fresh nuclear energy facility. This represents a significant policy event with implications at local and countrywide levels. Yet, the prime minister did not devote extensive time in Wales to advocating answers for the UK's power requirements. Rather, he spent it trying to draw a line under the Labour leadership briefing row, telling reporters that No 10 had not briefed against the health secretary's goals earlier this week.

As such, Sir Keir’s day served as a microcosm of what his prime ministership has evolved into more generally. Firstly, he wants his government to be doing, and to be seen to be doing, important things. Conversely, he is unable to accomplish this due to the way he – and, partly, the country as a whole – now conducts political and governmental affairs.

Sir Keir cannot change the culture of politics on his own, but he can do something about his personal involvement in it. The simple truth is that he could manage the centre of government far better than he does. Should he achieve this, he might find that the country was in less despair about his government than it is, and that he was getting his messages across more successfully.

Staffing Issues in Downing Street

A number of the problems in Number 10 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 sound staffing decisions, or maintain them. Perhaps he is too busy. Perhaps he is not really interested. However, he must to improve his performance, not do things slowly or by halves.

• He dithered about giving the key job of top civil servant to Chris Wormald.
• He appointed a former official his chief of staff, then replaced her with a political strategist.
• He brought Darren Jones 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 Core of the Administration

All premiers devote excessive time overseas and on foreign affairs, areas where Sir Keir ought to assign more tasks, and too little conversing with MPs and hearing the citizens. Premiers also spend too much time engaging with the press, which Sir Keir compounds by performing inadequately. But premiers cannot express surprise when their political appointees, who tend to be party activists or politically ambitious, cross lines or become the focus, as the chief of staff now has.

The biggest issues, though, are structural. It would be good to think that Sir Keir read the Institute for Government’s spring 2024 report on overhauling the government's central operations. His failure to grip these issues in the summer or afterward implies he did not. The often abject experience of the Labour administration indicates IfG proposals like reorganizing the functions of the Cabinet Office and Downing Street, and separating the jobs of cabinet secretary and civil service head, are now urgent.

The political pre-eminence of prime ministers far outdistances the assistance provided to them. As a result, everything currently suffers, and much is done badly or ignored.

This isn't Sir Keir’s sole responsibility. He stands as the victim of past failures along with the architect of present ones. But those who hoped Sir Keir would take control of the centre and take the machinery of government seriously have been disappointed. Unfortunately, the biggest loser from this failure is Sir Keir personally.