Starmer sets out his Cabinet KPIs

It was on a cold February morning in 2023 that Keir Starmer took to the stage in Manchester to announce his ‘Missions’ for government.  Since then, we’ve seen the party’s ‘Six first steps’, and this morning, Starmer visited Pinewood Studios to announce his latest government targets - ‘milestones’.  

Prime Ministers love nothing more than a target – focusing the minds of Ministers, in addition to – and particularly – the civil service. Strikingly, in his speech today, Starmer explicitly said there were two audiences for his speech today – members of the public, and Whitehall, or in other words the civil service.  

In essence, Starmer has today set out his KPI’s for Cabinet Ministers. Targets he can measure against, and progress on which will end up deciding Ministers’ fates in forthcoming reshuffles.  

Targets in government can work. During the COVID-19 pandemic, then Prime Minister set targets for testing and rolling out the vaccine, which were largely successfully met. On the other hand, they also risk providing a clear and demonstratable point of failure to the public.  

Starmer’s first Missions were bold and ambitious, designed for long-term change and – in Starmer’s own words – to end ‘sticking plaster politics. But the challenges faced by the party in government over its first months in office will have undoubtedly required a rethink to show the public what it wants to achieve for them now.  

The reality is that today’s speech by Starmer was a relaunch of his government that revised down some of the promises the Labour Party made when it was elected.  

The government argues these milestones are critical to the long-term success of its missions, but the reality is that today’s speech by Starmer was a relaunch of his government that revised down some of the promises the Labour Party made when it was elected. 

When it comes to economic growth, the government has made living standards its top priority in the short and medium term. The COVID-19 pandemic meant that the last Parliament was the worst for living standards in modern history, and the government has pledged to raise living standards in every part of the country. But the reality is there has never been a Parliament in modern times when real household disposable income didn’t rise – even during the last Parliament.  

On energy, before the election the government pledged 100% clean power by 2030. Today’s milestone promises only 95% clean power by that same date.  

The Breaking Down Barriers Mission will require cross government collaboration, and working in partnership with business, universities and the wider public sector to deliver it – and at the Purpose Coalition, that is exactly what we are working to deliver. For Starmer’s ‘milestone’, he pledges to ensure more children are starting primary school ready to learn, increasing that number by 25% in this Parliament.  

Today’s speech was without doubt an aim to relaunch the government. Will it work? The next year will tell.