🔗 Share this article

Prime Minister Starmer visited north Wales on Thursday to declare the building of a new nuclear power station. This represents a major policy announcement with both local and national implications. However, the prime minister did not devote much time in Wales to advocating solutions for the UK's energy needs. Rather, he spent it attempting to draw a line under the Labour leadership briefing row, telling journalists that No 10 had not briefed against the health secretary's goals in recent days.

Therefore, Sir Keir’s day served as a microcosm of what his premiership has evolved into more generally. Firstly, he wants his administration to be doing, and to be seen to be doing, significant actions. On the other hand, he is incapable to accomplish this because of the way he – and, partly, the nation as a whole – now practices political and governmental affairs.

The Prime Minister cannot change the culture of politics on his own, but he is able to take action about his own role in it. The plain fact is that he could manage the centre of government much more effectively than he does. Should he achieve this, he could discover that the country was in less despair about his government than it currently is, and that he was getting his messages across more successfully.

Personnel Problems in No 10

A number of the issues in Downing Street are about 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 sound staffing decisions, or stick with them. Perhaps he is too busy. Possibly he lacks genuine interest. But he needs to up his game, avoid slow progress or incompletely.

• He hesitated about giving the crucial role of cabinet secretary to a senior official.
• He appointed Sue Gray his top aide, then replaced her with Morgan McSweeney.
• He brought a Treasury figure in from the finance ministry as his deputy.
• His communications chiefs have been frequently replaced.
• Advisors on politics and policy have entered and exited.
• The situation is chaotic.

Structural Challenges at the Heart of Government

Every prime minister devote excessive time abroad and on international matters, where Sir Keir should delegate more, and insufficient time conversing with parliamentarians and hearing the public. Prime ministers also allocate too much time doing media, which Sir Keir compounds by doing it poorly. But premiers cannot express surprise when their politically appointed staff, who tend to be party loyalists or politically ambitious, cross lines or become the focus, as Mr McSweeney now has.

The most significant problems, though, are structural. It would be good to believe that Sir Keir read the Institute for Government’s spring 2024 study on overhauling the centre of government. His failure to address these matters in the summer or afterward suggests 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 top official and civil service head, are now urgent.

The dominant political role of prime ministers greatly exceeds the assistance provided to them. As a result, all aspects suffer, and many tasks are poorly executed or ignored.

This isn't Sir Keir’s sole responsibility. He is the victim of past failures as well as the architect of present ones. Yet individuals who expected Sir Keir would take control of the core and take the machinery of government seriously have been disappointed. Unfortunately, the primary casualty from this shortcoming is Sir Keir personally.