Prime Ministers deserve a nicer house and we deserve better government
The nerve centre of the British state, 10 Downing Street, is fantastically ill-suited to the needs of a modern Prime Minister and to the interests of the country.
An excellent piece by Politico last week lifted the lid on what it’s actually like to work in this rather dilapidated Georgian townhouse, with one former No 10 official saying the building is “the perfect metaphor for the state of Britain… it’s all built on top of itself, full of sticking plasters” with “doors that go to nowhere.”
The complaints from former and current staff are endless, covering everything from the poor phone signal to the shabby carpets and lack of showers. One person compared it to “a three-start Bournemouth hotel.” These might sound like mere workplace grumbles, but the situation is serious. Firstly, fraying curtains and tape-patched carpets are just as visible to visiting dignitaries as they are to Downing Street staffers. We can put on a fine display of pomp when we want to but the details matter, too.
As for the rest of the street, the Chancellor takes No 11 with other functions such as the Chief Whip and media briefing rooms occupying other spaces. The Cabinet Office also has its power base on Downing Street, though as its headcount has grown from just over a thousand civil servants in 2008 to more than 10,000 today, it obviously has its outposts. The functions of this secretariat have also sprawled.
A report published yesterday by the Effective Governance Forum points out that while the corporate world is seeing trends towards leaner, more focused operations the instincts and trajectory of the Cabinet Office are towards “becoming larger, accreting more powers and responsibilities” and “micromanaging.” Michael Jary, co-founder of OC&C Strategy Consultants and a former government NED, pointed out in The Times yesterday that if the heart of government were a company, “investors would be calling for a complete overhaul.”
‘Pull a lever and nothing happens’
His report says the Cabinet Office should be abolished and replaced with a dramatically streamlined Office of the Prime Minister.” Duplication, delay, the prioritisation of process and absurd inefficiencies mean most PMs, ministers and their staff are staggered at how little power they can actually wield. Boris Johnson and Keir Starmer have both spoken about pulling a lever to find that nothing happens.
A total overhaul of structure and processes is essential, and while they’re at it they can smarten up the carpets and curtains, too.
But I’d go further.
Our Prime Ministers are, in my view, inadequately housed and inadequately looked after. You may say, “ah, but they’re not the head of state,” and perhaps you think it keeps them humble, but whether it’s Liz Truss being billed for bathrobes at Chequers or any other PM faffing around with their own Ocado order, I’d suggest it’s time to bite the bullet and put some proper domestic support around the holders of the highest office in the land.
They should probably move out of Downing Street, too, and into something more substantial like Carlton Gardens. Here’s how it would have to work: a gaggle of former PMs and Civil Service chiefs should get together and devise a new settlement. The current PM could agree to it but, to avoid allegations of nest-feathering, it should be understood that the new system would kick in only after the incumbent leaves office or after the next general election.
It’s not a vote winner, but it’s the right thing to do.