Keir Starmer needs to fix the authority gap in the centre of government

The three senior civil servants who should be closest to the prime minister and helping him run the government are in limbo. The cabinet secretary Simon Case is expected to be gone by the start of next year. National security adviser Tim Barrow was replaced, then un-replaced, and is now waiting to see what happens next. The same thing seemingly happened to Starmer’s principal private secretary Elizabeth Perelman. And they are all trying to operate in a convoluted institutional structure, with a Cabinet Office in need of reform.

It is, then, not surprising that parts of government appear to be juddering, and that ministers and officials are struggling to keep on top of frothy briefings about Sue Gray and avoidable ethical questions on Starmer’s acceptance of hospitality and gifts.  

The prime minister needs a strong and united top team to give him the best advice, and to get on top of problematic stories before they cause trouble. Starmer must impose his authority on rival Downing Street camps, and rapidly sort out the hiatus at the top of the civil service.

Time to crack on with some civil service appointments

It was right for the prime minister not to ask Case to move on day one. Continuity was required at the very start of the government, it sets a bad precedent for incoming prime ministers to boot out their cabinet secretaries, and Starmer needed to avoid echoes of Liz Truss’s disastrous sacking of Treasury permanent secretary Tom Scholar.

But Case, after serving more than four years at the top of the civil service, is on his way out, and his authority is lacking during this crucial period for the government. There is a strong bench of potential replacements – from inside and outside the civil service – and the government should proceed now with a proper competition to find his successor. The same applies to Perelman’s role as Starmer’s principal private secretary.

The choreography around the national security adviser seems more complicated, with various moving parts including a sensible delay to the appointment of the US ambassador until after their presidential election. But an appointment sooner rather than later would be welcome.

The window of opportunity to improve No.10 and the Cabinet Office is closing

On the institutional side, as we have argued the Cabinet Office needs to be slimmed down or abolished entirely. It has too many functions, leading to a confused remit and overlapping centres of power. This part of government needs to return to its core function of supporting the prime minister and cabinet to develop and enforce collective responsibility.

No.10 needs to be strengthened to reflect the prime minister’s status as executive leader of the government. There should be more economic, analytical and delivery support for Starmer – not so his teams can meddle in every aspect of government activity, but to give them the tools to set direction, debate on a more equal footing with departments (especially the Treasury), and hold the system to account for making the government’s programme happen.

The longer the government is in office, the harder it becomes to make these changes. Personal interests get entrenched, power plays grind the system down and complexity can seem overwhelming. It becomes easier to muddle on. So Starmer’s window to make the necessary changes is closing – he needs to act quickly, and certainly alongside the appointment of the next cabinet secretary.

The prime minister himself must demand change and impose discipline

Starmer would be right to avoid getting dragged too far into dealing with personal squabbles or civil service organisation charts. But he needs to lead his team. In the centre of the British system it is only the prime minister who has the authority to quieten ill-advised briefing, or to cut through bureaucratic obstacles to institutional reform.  

In these early days of his premiership, Starmer still has time to set its course. If he wants to avoid having to re-set, he needs to invest now in getting his top team, and government structure, right for the next five years of government.