10 Downing St Fails to Be Capable of the Task

Sir Keir Starmer traveled to Wales' northern region on Thursday to reveal the building of a fresh nuclear energy facility. This represents a major policy announcement with both local and national implications. However, the prime minister did not dedicate extensive time in Wales to promoting solutions for the UK's energy needs. Instead, he spent it attempting to draw a line under the briefing controversy within Labour's leadership, informing reporters that No 10 had not briefed against the health secretary's goals in recent days.

As such, Sir Keir’s day served as a microcosm of what his prime ministership has now become more generally. On the one hand, he wants his government to be doing, and to be seen to be doing, important things. On the other hand, he is incapable to accomplish this due to the way he – and, to an extent, the nation more generally – now conducts politics and government.

Sir Keir is unable to transform the political culture single-handedly, but he can take action about his personal involvement in it. The plain fact is that he could run the government's core much more effectively than he does. If he did this, he might find that the nation was in less dismay about his government than it currently is, and that he was getting his messages across more effectively.

Staffing Issues in No 10

Some of the problems in Downing Street are about personnel. The personal dynamics of every Downing Street operation are difficult to discern well from outside. But it seems obvious that Sir Keir fails to 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, not do things slowly or by halves.

• He hesitated about assigning the key job of cabinet secretary to a senior official.
• He made Sue Gray his top aide, then replaced her with a political strategist.
• He brought a Treasury figure in from the Treasury as his chief secretary.
• His media advisors have been frequently replaced.
• Advisors on politics and policy have come and gone.
• The situation is chaotic.

Systemic Issues at the Core of the Administration

All premiers spend too much time abroad and on international matters, areas where Sir Keir ought to assign more tasks, and too little talking to parliamentarians and listening to the citizens. Prime ministers also allocate 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 focus, as Mr McSweeney has recently.

The most significant problems, however, are systemic. It would be beneficial to believe that Sir Keir reviewed 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 since implies he did not. The often abject performance of Labour’s time in office suggests IfG proposals like restructuring the functions of the Cabinet Office and No 10, and separating the positions of cabinet secretary and civil service head, are currently critical.

The dominant political role of PMs greatly exceeds the assistance provided to them. Consequently, all aspects suffer, and many tasks are poorly executed or ignored.

This isn't Sir Keir’s sole responsibility. He stands as the victim of past failures along with the architect of current mistakes. But those who hoped 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 shortcoming is Sir Keir himself.