🔗 Share this article

Sir Keir Starmer traveled to north Wales this past Thursday to announce the building of a fresh nuclear energy facility. This represents a major policy announcement with implications at local and countrywide levels. However, the PM did not dedicate extensive time in Wales to promoting answers for the UK's energy needs. Instead, he used the time 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 in recent days.

As such, Sir Keir’s day served as a small-scale example of what his premiership has evolved into more generally. On the one hand, he desires his administration to be performing, and to be seen to be doing, significant actions. On the other hand, he is incapable to accomplish this because of the manner he – and, to an extent, the nation as a whole – now practices politics and government.

Sir Keir is unable to transform the political culture on his own, but he is able to take action about his own role in it. The simple truth is that he could manage the government's core far better than he does. If he did this, he could discover that the country was in less dismay about his administration than it currently is, and that he was getting his messages across more successfully.

Staffing Issues in Downing Street

A number of the issues in Downing Street are about personnel. 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 stick with them. Perhaps he is too busy. Perhaps he is not really interested. However, he must to improve his performance, not do things slowly or incompletely.

• He hesitated about giving the crucial role of top civil servant to a senior official.
• He made Sue Gray his chief of staff, then replaced her with a political strategist.
• He recruited Darren Jones in from the finance ministry as his deputy.
• His media advisors have chopped and changed.
• Advisors on politics and policy have come and gone.
• The situation is chaotic.

Systemic Issues at the Core of Government

All premiers devote excessive time overseas and on international matters, where Sir Keir should delegate more, and insufficient time talking to MPs and listening to the citizens. Premiers also spend too much time engaging with the press, which Sir Keir worsens by performing inadequately. But premiers cannot express surprise when their political appointees, who are often party activists or politically ambitious, cross lines or become the story, as the chief of staff has recently.

The biggest issues, however, are systemic. It would be beneficial to believe that Sir Keir reviewed the Institute for Government’s March 2024 report on overhauling the government's central operations. His failure to address these matters in the summer or since suggests he did not. The frequently dismal performance of Labour’s time in office suggests recommendations like reorganizing the roles of the Cabinet Office and No 10, and dividing the jobs of cabinet secretary and head of the civil service, are now urgent.

The dominant political role of PMs far outdistances the support available to them. Consequently, all aspects suffer, and much is done badly or neglected.

This isn't Sir Keir’s sole responsibility. He is the victim of previous shortcomings as well as the author of current mistakes. Yet individuals who expected Sir Keir might get a grip on the core and prioritize governmental structures have been let down. Unfortunately, the primary casualty from this shortcoming is Sir Keir himself.