When it comes to appointing key people, Keir Starmer has a poor record. Nin Pandit, who is being moved from her post as his principal private secretary after only 10 months, is merely the latest example.
Before that, there was Sue Gray, the Whitehall veteran, who Starmer now admits was not the “right person” to be his chief of staff. Bad appointments matter: Gray was the main reason Labour arrived in office last year with no plan for government.
Pandit’s move to a policy role will be followed by a wider shake-up of Downing Street, and a reshuffle of junior and middle-ranking ministers, soon after parliament returns from its summer break on Monday.
The No 10 changes reflect Starmer’s frustration at the government machine. The PM is finally addressing the paradox of his administration: why is his strong performance on foreign affairs not matched on the domestic agenda? Having the brilliant Jonathan Powell as his national security adviser is only part of the answer.
We’re told he now wants to take personal charge of domestic policy delivery. That is a remarkable admission after almost 14 months in power. Shock news: Starmer has decided… to do what is a vital part of any PM’s job.
Critics claim Starmer is weak on personnel matters because he is reluctant to sack longstanding, trusted aides. One example: Chris Ward, one of two parliamentary aides, along with Liz Twist, was first recruited soon after Starmer became an MP in 2015. Both are described as “ineffectual”.
Starmer will have to bite the bullet in his forthcoming shake-up. He needs more advisers prepared to speak uncomfortable truths to power. Tony Blair had a rule: “If advisers have nothing original to say, they won’t last.”
Another valid criticism is the macho, aggressive briefing to the media by some Starmer aides, suggesting people will soon be ousted. It happened to Pandit and to Gray – in spades. It has happened to the cabinet ministers Bridget Phillipson and Lisa Nandy, though both survive. Starmer is appalled by such briefings – often against women and blamed on what Gray saw as a “boys’ club” headed by Morgan McSweeney, her successor as chief of staff – but they keep on coming.
Claire Reynolds, the political director, is in the firing line for the debacle over welfare cuts. She got her numbers wrong as Labour MPs threatened rebellion, ignoring former US president Lyndon B Johnson’s edict that the first rule of politics is “to be able to count”.
However, one insider told me there would be resentment among women if Reynolds is pushed out and Matt Faulding keeps his job as parliamentary Labour Party secretary, since he was blamed by many for the worst mistakes during the welfare shambles.
The hostile briefings are not only against women. There are rumblings against Chris Wormald, a surprise choice by Starmer as cabinet secretary. He is viewed as not the reformer the PM wanted – but was never likely to be. Wormald will probably survive, but other changes may reduce his influence – such as the appointment of a senior civil servant (perhaps Louise Casey) to drive Starmer’s agenda through government departments.
Pandit’s successor is expected to be Dan York-Smith, a Treasury official – a long-overdue recognition that Starmer lacks economic expertise. A heavyweight economic adviser is also coming soon, but it has taken an age to fill this yawning gap. The PM ceded too much power to Rachel Reeves. He is closing the stable door but only after much damage has been done, requiring U-turns on the winter fuel allowance and welfare cuts.
Pandit’s new policy role has raised eyebrows because two policy chiefs are already vying to be top dog – Liz Lloyd, a former senior Blair aide, and Stuart Ingham, a longstanding Starmer adviser. One colleague whispered: “Liz is good, but Stuart sometimes goes to Keir through the back door to block what she wants.”
Frustration at a slow Whitehall machine is hardly new but partly reflects our politicians’ tendency to blame someone else. Civil servants rightly complain that all they want are clear instructions and a sense of direction from their political masters. Senior Whitehall figures tell me Starmer is too indecisive for his own good. As one put it: “His lawyer’s mentality, looking at something from every angle, holds him back.”
Blaming the individuals Starmer has placed in the wrong jobs is a diversion. As is attributing all the government’s woes to poor communications. The common factor is Starmer himself; perhaps the real problem is him.
Close allies admit he doesn’t always get things right first time, but insist he is ruthless and decisive in correcting mistakes. True, he did recover from a similar crisis as opposition leader by shaking up his team after a 2021 by-election defeat in Hartlepool.
Starmer must get his changes right this time because he might not get another chance to install a grade-A team. As Nigel Farage makes the political weather, even some Starmer loyalists are no longer sure the PM can turn the tide. They forecast a dangerous storm after a dismal Labour showing at next May’s elections to the Scottish and Welsh parliaments and English local authorities.
Starmer might well need a very strong crew around him to ensure he remains captain of the ship.
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