🔗 Share this article Number 10 Downing Street Is Not Fit for Purpose Sir Keir Starmer traveled to north Wales this past Thursday to declare the construction of a new nuclear power station. This represents a significant policy event with implications at local and countrywide levels. However, the PM did not devote extensive time in Wales to advocating solutions for the UK's power requirements. Rather, he used the time trying to put an end to the Labour leadership briefing row, informing reporters that No 10 had not briefed against the health secretary’s ambitions earlier this week. Therefore, Sir Keir’s day acted as a microcosm of what his premiership has evolved into overall. Firstly, he desires his administration to be performing, and to be perceived as performing, significant actions. On the other hand, he is incapable to accomplish this due to the way he – and, partly, the nation as a whole – now practices political and governmental affairs. The Prime Minister is unable to change the culture of politics on his own, but he can do something about his personal involvement in it. The plain fact is that he could manage the centre of government far better than he does. Should he achieve this, he might find that the country was in less despair about his government than it currently is, and that he was getting his messages across more successfully. Personnel Problems in Downing Street A number of the problems in Number 10 are about personnel. The personal dynamics of any No 10 regime are hard to know accurately from the exterior. But it seems obvious that Sir Keir does not make sound staffing decisions, or maintain them. Perhaps he is too busy. Possibly he lacks genuine interest. But he needs to improve his performance, avoid slow progress or incompletely. He hesitated about assigning the key job of cabinet secretary to Chris Wormald. He appointed a former official his chief of staff, then replaced her with a political strategist. He recruited Darren Jones in from the Treasury as his deputy. His communications chiefs have been frequently replaced. Advisors on politics and policy have come and gone. The situation is chaotic. Structural Challenges at the Core of Government Every prime minister spend too much time abroad and on foreign affairs, areas where Sir Keir ought to assign more tasks, and too little conversing with MPs and listening to the public. Premiers also allocate too much time doing media, which Sir Keir worsens by performing inadequately. But premiers cannot claim to be surprised when their political appointees, who tend to be party activists or politically ambitious, overstep boundaries or become the focus, as Mr McSweeney now has. The biggest issues, however, are systemic. It would be beneficial to believe that Sir Keir read the a think tank's March 2024 report on overhauling the centre of government. His inability to address these matters in the summer or afterward suggests he did not. The frequently dismal performance of the Labour administration indicates recommendations like restructuring the functions of the central government office and Downing Street, and dividing the jobs of top official and civil service head, are currently critical. The dominant political role of prime ministers greatly exceeds the support available to them. Consequently, all aspects suffer, and many tasks are poorly executed or ignored. This isn't Sir Keir’s sole responsibility. He is the victim of previous shortcomings along with the author of present ones. Yet individuals who expected Sir Keir would take control of the core and prioritize governmental structures have been disappointed. Unfortunately, the primary casualty from this failure is Sir Keir himself.