Starmer Won’t Gain by Shuffling the Deck Chairs
Ministerial churn is hobbling UK governments.
Cabinet meetings look the same even after a reshuffle.
Photographer: WPA Pool/Getty Images EuropeUK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has confounded hopes he’d end the chaos of the latter Tory years. While he had no choice about recalibrating his cabinet after his deputy, Angela Rayner, resigned in disgrace over a tax scandal last week, the extent of his reshuffle took Westminster by surprise. Half his top team were shunted into new roles, leaving a dozen ministers scrambling to hit the books on their brief. That’s not a good thing at a time when the UK is beset by numerous crises.
Starmer may view the reshuffle as an opportunity to reset after his governing Labour party was overtaken in the polls by the populist Reform, but it would be best if he now left his ministers to get on with the job. He should aim to keep them in situ until at least the next election, which need not be held for nearly four years.