🔗 Share this article

Sir Keir Starmer traveled to Wales' northern region this past Thursday to reveal the development of a fresh nuclear energy facility. This represents a major policy announcement with implications at local and countrywide levels. Yet, the prime minister did not devote much time in Wales to advocating answers for the UK's energy needs. Rather, he spent it attempting to put an end to the briefing controversy within Labour's leadership, telling reporters that Downing Street had not briefed against the health secretary's goals in recent days.

As such, Sir Keir’s day acted as a microcosm of what his premiership has evolved into overall. Firstly, he wants his administration to be performing, and to be seen to be doing, significant actions. Conversely, he is incapable to accomplish this due to the way he – and, partly, the nation more generally – now practices politics and government.

The Prime Minister cannot change the political culture single-handedly, but he can do something about his personal involvement in it. The simple truth is that he could run the government's core far better than he currently does. Should he achieve this, he might find that the nation was in less despair about his administration than it is, and that he was communicating his points more successfully.

Personnel Problems in Downing Street

A number of the issues in Number 10 are about personnel. The personal dynamics of any No 10 regime are difficult to discern well from outside. Yet it appears clear that Sir Keir does not make good personnel choices, or stick with them. Perhaps he is too busy. Possibly he lacks genuine interest. However, he must to improve his performance, avoid slow progress or incompletely.

• He hesitated about assigning the crucial role of cabinet secretary to a senior official.
• He made a former official his top aide, then replaced her with a political strategist.
• He brought Darren Jones in from the Treasury as his chief secretary.
• His communications chiefs have chopped and changed.
• Political and policy advisers have come and gone.
• The situation is chaotic.

Structural Challenges at the Heart of the Administration

All premiers spend too much time overseas and on international matters, where Sir Keir should delegate more, and insufficient time conversing with MPs and listening to the citizens. Prime ministers also spend too much time engaging with the press, which Sir Keir compounds by doing it poorly. But premiers cannot claim to be surprised when their political appointees, who tend to be party loyalists or politically ambitious, overstep boundaries or become the story, as Mr McSweeney has recently.

The most significant problems, however, are systemic. It would be good to think that Sir Keir read the Institute for Government’s spring 2024 report on reforming the centre of government. His inability to grip these issues last July or since implies he did not. The often abject experience of Labour’s time in office suggests recommendations like reorganizing the functions of the central government office and Downing Street, and separating the jobs of top official and head of the civil service, are currently critical.

The dominant political role of PMs far outdistances the support available to them. As a result, everything currently suffers, and many tasks are poorly executed or neglected.

This is not Sir Keir’s sole responsibility. He stands as the casualty of past failures as well as the architect of current mistakes. But those who hoped Sir Keir would take control of the centre and take the machinery of government seriously have been let down. Unfortunately, the primary casualty from this failure is Sir Keir himself.