Keir Starmer is creating a new role to focus on policy delivery in Downing Street, as he looks to shake things up at No10 ahead of Parliament returning next week
Keir Starmer is shaking up his team in No10 as he tries to get on the front foot ahead of a tricky Autumn.
The PM’s principal private secretary Nin Pandit, who was in charge of running Mr Starmer’s team at Downing Street, will take on a new role focused on policy delivery. The Prime Minister will oversee Ms Pandit’s new job, as he seeks to play a more direct role in delivery.
Dan York-Smith is said to be replacing Ms Pandit as Mr Starmer’s principal private secretary. As an experienced Treasury official, bringing him in is considered a sign of No10 wanting to beef up economic expertise in Downing Street. The Mirror understands Ms Pandit did not quit and that Mr Starmer has given her his full trust and backing in her new role.
The PM faces a host of challenges as MPs return from summer recess next week, including dwindling poll ratings, a looming Budget and the Labour Party’s annual conference. Government insiders believe that showing the public they are delivering on key pledges must be a priority in tackling the rise of Reform UK – which is leading in the polls.
READ MORE: Nin Pandit: Keir Starmer replaces top civil servant in Downing Street team
The PM’s creation of a new delivery-focused role also comes amid criticism of Downing Street for lacking a clear political narrative of what the Government stands for and what it is delivering. More than two-thirds of Labour members want the party to shift to the left, while some MPs think a more centrist – or even right-leaning – position will be more effective in tackling Reform UK.
A Labour MP told The Mirror: “Our messaging has got lost in the past 12 months, and I think that some of our ministers have got more caught up with having to deal with civil servants than getting on with the job of delivering. I think a shake-up by No10 is the first step in refocusing and ensuring that our message is stronger, but also clearly defining what our priorities are.”
The Government’s focus on genuine delivery – where people feel an actual difference in their lives – can also be seen in its emphasis on practical solutions versus what it calls the “empty promises” of Nigel Farage. This week, ministers have savaged Reform UK’s party’s mass deportation proposals as “back-of-the-fag-packet plans without the substance on delivery”.
Labour Cabinet Office Minister Nick Thomas-Symonds yesterday accused Reform of stoking tensions with his fantasy plan to deport 600,000 people in five years. He said: “What Nigel Farage does is to stoke problems and offer empty promises for their solution. The reality is what we’re talking about here is just completely unrealistic.”
Ms Pandit’s move to a more delivery-focused role follows two of Mr Starmer’s most senior aides leaving No10 in the first year of the Labour government. In March, the PM’s director of communications in No10, Matthew Doyle, departed in March. He stood down despite being in the position for less than a year. It marked a further shake-up in Downing Street after Sue Gray, the PM’s chief of staff, dramatically quit in the Autumn after months of damaging media coverage.
Mr Starmer is also said to be looking at a reshuffle of his junior ministers, to oust those who are underperforming and reward rising star MPs with official positions. The PM is not expected to move people in his Cabinet.
The changes come ahead of Labour’s big annual conference in Liverpool, where Mr Starmer and his team will hope to rally party members after a rocky first year in power. Last year’s Labour conference came amid a huge row over top Cabinet ministers – including the PM – accepting freebies and gifts, as well as a controversy over Ms Gray being paid more than Mr Starmer. It was a far cry from the celebratory gathering one might have expected after a history landslide election win.
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