New term, new faces, new jobs – and same old problems. Parliament has returned in a manner that perfectly encapsulates the challenges facing the government, and its struggles in confronting them.
The news on Monday was dominated by four things: the mini-reshuffle (or “re-shufflet,” as one Labour MP referred to it) that saw Darren Jones move into a newly created role as chief secretary to the Prime Minister. In addition to a raft of back-office changes, there were big statements made in the House of Commons by Yvette Cooper (on the asylum system) and David Lammy (on Gaza). Lastly, in Downing Street, Keir Starmer said he “always sits in front of a Union Jack”.
You might notice that a fourth element is missing from that list – namely, the expansion of free childcare hours, the very thing the government wanted to launch the new parliamentary term talking about. Yes, there were op-eds from Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves on the topic, and yes, the early education minister took on Monday’s broadcast round. But, as my colleague Anoosh Chakelian asks on the latest New Statesman podcast, why did the government hold back from making the most of this?
There are issues with the free childcare roll out (namely the warnings from providers that the resources just aren’t there to match the expanded provision), it’s still a rare occasion for the government to trumpet some good news that will have an immediate impact on the pockets of ordinary voters. It’s the kind of instant retail offering that doesn’t come around in politics very often. And while it’s technically a Tory-era policy courtesy of Jeremy Hunt, Labour have fallen into enough traps left for them by the last Conservative government (unfunded tax cuts, an overcrowding crisis in prisons, housing asylum seekers in hotels while stalling the processing of their applications). They might as well take credit when the opportunity arises.
So, where are the photos of the Prime Minister at a nursery trying his hand at finger-painting or getting involved in the sandpit, surrounded by happy and educationally stimulated toddlers? Why did No 10 derail its own good news agenda by shifting the focus onto personnel changes and some of the most contentious issues in British politics? Why did the PM use his first interview of the season to wade into the culture war regarding the St George’s Cross?
Though Starmer did say that the childcare expansion was “hugely important”, the message that the government should be promoted above all else was lost amid his answers regarding the Downing Street changes and the plan to close asylum hotels.
This is the kind of inexplicably lacklustre comms that some of the re-shufflet moves might, in theory, help with – such as the expected arrival of PR guru Tim Allan, once director of communications for Tony Blair. But comms changes have been made before (as was immediately noted, the departure of former Mirror and Sunday Times Political Editor James Lyons means Starmer will be appointing his fourth director of communications in five years), with limited success. There appear to be some easy wins on offer (I repeat, finger-painting), but the much bigger problem with government comms isn’t competence: it’s working out what story it wants to tell in the first place.
This lack of a narrative developed during the government’s first year in office. It is the question niggling in the background as we look ahead to the set-piece events of the autumn: Starmer’s speech at Labour Party Conference in Liverpool later this month, the Budget to be delivered by Rachel Reeves in October or November, and any further reshuffles if they happen. It is one reason Downing Street so often feels in catch-up mode, buffeted by events rather than driving an agenda of its own.
Monday also saw the parliamentary term kick off with statements from the Home Secretary and the Foreign Secretary, on issues where the momentum seems to be coming from outside the government rather than within it. First, Cooper updated the Commons on plans for the asylum system, promising a “complete overhaul” of the appeals process and hinting at reforms to the ECHR. The government is no doubt trying to show it has a grip on an issue that has shot back to the top of the political agenda, after a summer of protests and furious debate about the use of hotels. This has not been helped by weekly interventions by Nigel Farage and Reform UK, which hosts its party conference this Friday. But if Cooper hopes her plan will help Labour, she might keep in mind that highlighting the government’s efforts on immigration and asylum seems to instead boost Reform (as explored in this exclusive New Statesman podcast with Steve Akehurst).
As for Lammy’s update on Gaza and the path the government is taking towards the recognition of a Palestinian state, it won’t have escaped the Foreign Secretary’s notice that backbench Labour MPs, the Lib Dems and Jeremy Corbyn’s unnamed nascent party are piling on the pressure. This is another area where the government doesn’t seem to have its own narrative but is instead caught trying to triangulate between different positions that please nobody.
All in all, it’s hard to imagine a day more apt for setting the tone for the year ahead. Welcome back everyone.
This piece first appeared in the Morning Call newsletter; receive it every morning by subscribing on Substack here
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