🔗 Share this article Number 10 Downing Street Fails to Be Fit for Purpose Sir Keir Starmer visited north Wales on Thursday to declare the construction of a new nuclear power station. This is a significant policy event with implications at local and countrywide levels. However, the prime minister did not dedicate extensive time in Wales to promoting answers for the UK's power requirements. Rather, he spent it trying to draw a line under the briefing controversy within Labour's leadership, informing journalists that No 10 had not undermined the health secretary's goals earlier this week. Therefore, Sir Keir’s day acted as a small-scale example of what his premiership has now become more generally. On the one hand, he desires his administration to be performing, and to be seen to be doing, important things. On the other hand, he is unable to achieve this because of the way he – and, partly, the country more generally – now practices politics and government. Sir Keir cannot change the political culture single-handedly, but he is able to do something about his personal involvement in it. The plain fact is that he could run the government's core far better than he does. Should he achieve this, he could discover that the country was in less dismay about his administration than it currently is, and that he was communicating his points more successfully. Personnel Problems in No 10 Some of the problems in Downing Street relate to personnel. The personal dynamics of every Downing Street operation are hard to know well from outside. Yet it appears clear that Sir Keir fails to make sound staffing decisions, or stick with them. Perhaps he is too busy. Perhaps he is not really interested. But he needs to improve his performance, not do things slowly or by halves. He hesitated about assigning the crucial role of top civil servant to Chris Wormald. He made a former official his top aide, then replaced her with a political strategist. He recruited Darren Jones in from the finance ministry as his chief secretary. His communications chiefs have been frequently replaced. Advisors on politics and policy have come and gone. The situation is chaotic. Structural Challenges at the Heart of Government All premiers spend too much time abroad and on foreign affairs, where Sir Keir should delegate more, and insufficient time talking to MPs and listening to the public. Premiers also spend too much time engaging with the press, which Sir Keir compounds by performing inadequately. But premiers cannot claim to be surprised when their politically appointed staff, who tend to be party activists or politically ambitious, cross lines or become the focus, as the chief of staff now has. The biggest issues, though, are structural. It would be beneficial to think that Sir Keir read the a think tank's spring 2024 report on overhauling the centre of government. His failure to address these matters in the summer or afterward suggests he did not. The often abject experience of Labour’s time in office suggests recommendations like restructuring 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 dominant political role of PMs greatly exceeds the support available to them. Consequently, all aspects suffer, and much is done badly or ignored. This is not Sir Keir’s fault alone. He is the victim of past failures as well as the architect of current mistakes. Yet individuals who expected Sir Keir would take control of the centre and take the machinery of government seriously have been let down. Sadly, the biggest loser from this shortcoming is Sir Keir personally.