10 Downing St Is Not Capable of the Task

Sir Keir Starmer visited Wales' northern region this past Thursday to announce the construction of a fresh nuclear energy facility. This is a major policy announcement with both local and national implications. Yet, the prime minister did not dedicate much 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 journalists that Downing Street had not undermined the health secretary’s ambitions earlier this week.

As such, Sir Keir’s day served as a microcosm of what his premiership has evolved into more generally. Firstly, he wants his government to be doing, and to be perceived as performing, important things. Conversely, he is incapable to achieve this because of the way he – and, partly, the country more generally – now conducts politics and government.

Sir Keir cannot change the political culture single-handedly, but he is able to take action about his personal involvement in it. The plain fact is that he could run the centre of government far better than he currently does. If he did this, he could discover that the country was in less despair about his administration than it is, and that he was communicating his points more successfully.

Staffing Issues in Downing Street

Some of the problems in Number 10 are about individuals. The personal dynamics of every Downing Street operation are difficult to discern well from outside. Yet it appears clear that Sir Keir does not make sound staffing decisions, or maintain them. Maybe he is overly occupied. Perhaps he is not really interested. However, he must to improve his performance, avoid slow progress or incompletely.

• He dithered about assigning the crucial role of top civil servant to a senior official.
• He appointed Sue Gray his chief of staff, then substituted her with a political strategist.
• He recruited Darren Jones in from the Treasury as his deputy.
• His media advisors have been frequently replaced.
• Political and policy advisers have come and gone.
• It is a mess.

Structural Challenges at the Core of the Administration

Every prime minister devote excessive time abroad and on foreign affairs, areas where Sir Keir ought to assign more tasks, and too little conversing with parliamentarians and hearing the public. Premiers also allocate too much time engaging with the press, which Sir Keir compounds by performing inadequately. But premiers cannot express surprise when their political appointees, who are often party loyalists or ambitious in politics, cross lines or become the story, as the chief of staff has recently.

The most significant problems, though, are structural. It would be good to believe that Sir Keir read the Institute for Government’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 frequently dismal experience of Labour’s time in office suggests IfG proposals like reorganizing the functions of the central government office and No 10, and dividing the jobs of top official and head of the civil service, are now urgent.

The political pre-eminence of prime ministers greatly exceeds the support available 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 casualty of past failures along with the author of present ones. Yet individuals who expected Sir Keir might get a grip on the centre and prioritize governmental structures have been let down. Sadly, the biggest loser from this shortcoming is Sir Keir personally.