Prime Minister Starmer traveled to Wales' northern region on Thursday to reveal the development of a fresh nuclear energy facility. This represents a major policy announcement with implications at local and countrywide levels. However, the prime minister did not dedicate much time in Wales to advocating answers for the UK's power requirements. Instead, he spent it trying to put an end to the briefing controversy within Labour's leadership, informing reporters that Downing Street had not undermined the health secretary's goals in recent days.
Therefore, Sir Keir’s day acted as a small-scale example of what his prime ministership has evolved into overall. Firstly, he wants his administration to be performing, and to be seen to be doing, significant actions. On the other hand, he is unable to accomplish this because of the manner he – and, to an extent, the nation more generally – now practices political and governmental affairs.
Sir Keir is unable to change the political culture on his own, but he is able to take action about his personal involvement in it. The plain fact is that he could manage the government's core much more effectively than he does. If he did this, he could discover that the nation was in less dismay about his government than it currently is, and that he was getting his messages across more successfully.
Staffing Issues in Downing Street
A number of the problems in Downing Street relate to individuals. The interpersonal relations of every Downing Street operation are hard to know accurately from the exterior. Yet it appears clear that Sir Keir fails to make good personnel choices, or stick with them. Perhaps he is too busy. Perhaps he is not really interested. But he needs to improve his performance, avoid slow progress or incompletely.
- He hesitated about assigning the crucial role of top civil servant to a senior official.
- He made a former official his chief of staff, then substituted her with Morgan McSweeney.
- He recruited Darren Jones in from the Treasury as his chief secretary.
- His communications chiefs have chopped and changed.
- Advisors on politics and policy have entered and exited.
- It is a mess.
Structural Challenges at the Heart of the Administration
Every prime minister spend too much time abroad and on international matters, areas where Sir Keir ought to assign more tasks, and insufficient time talking to MPs and hearing the citizens. Prime ministers also spend too much time doing media, which Sir Keir worsens by doing it poorly. Yet leaders cannot claim to be surprised when their political appointees, who tend to be party loyalists or ambitious in politics, cross lines or become the story, as Mr McSweeney has recently.
The most significant problems, though, are systemic. It would be good to believe that Sir Keir reviewed the Institute for Government’s March 2024 study on reforming the centre of government. His inability to grip these issues last July or afterward suggests he did not. The frequently dismal performance of the Labour administration indicates IfG proposals like reorganizing the roles of the central government office and No 10, and separating the positions of cabinet secretary and civil service head, are currently critical.
The dominant political role of prime ministers greatly exceeds the assistance provided to them. Consequently, everything currently suffers, and much is done badly or ignored.
This isn't Sir Keir’s sole responsibility. He stands as the casualty of past failures as well as the architect of present ones. But those who hoped Sir Keir might get a grip on the centre and take the machinery of government seriously have been disappointed. Sadly, the biggest loser from this failure is Sir Keir himself.
