Senior minister says Sir Keir Starmer’s governing style ‘doesn’t necessarily work’ in politics

Health Secretary Yvette Cooper has said that Sir Keir Starmer’s manner of running government “doesn’t necessarily work in politics”, offering a rare public assessment from a former senior minister who served in his Cabinet.

Speaking on the Political Currency podcast with former chancellor George Osborne, Ms Cooper, who served as home secretary and later foreign secretary under Sir Keir, reflected on the party’s six years under his leadership and on the final phase of his premiership. Sir Keir stepped down as prime minister last month and has pledged his “full support” to the new prime minister, Andy Burnham.

“I think we’ve been pursuing a lot of really important things – a lot of things we’ve made massive progress on and achieved.”

Assessment of delivery and leadership

Ms Cooper said the government had delivered concrete changes in key areas but that the approach to running those changes was not always effective politically. She pointed to a series of policy achievements while also suggesting the government’s focus shifted over time and initial policy drives did not always sustain momentum.

She highlighted specific improvements that she said took place under Sir Keir’s administration, including the deployment of an additional 3,000 neighbourhood police in the first year and reductions in NHS waiting times and waiting lists. Yet she told the podcast the early “missions” of government, prominent in the first six months, largely dissipated thereafter.

Management style and policy involvement

Ms Cooper criticised what she characterised as Sir Keir’s managerial preference for practical solutions over engagement with problems. She said this manifested in a style that expected ministers and officials to present solutions rather than draw attention to difficulties, a method she suggested was at odds with the demands of political leadership.

Using immigration reforms launched while she was at the Home Office as an example, Ms Cooper said ministers were sometimes asked to feature on policy launches while the prime minister remained detached from the detailed development of those policies.

She added that the party had previously faced a serious internal challenge during the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn, describing that period as an “existential crisis” for Labour, and that Sir Keir’s six years leading the party were an unusually long spell for a modern leader.

Context and consequences

The comments come amid a recalibration of Labour’s frontbench after Sir Keir’s departure and Mr Burnham’s elevation to prime minister. Ms Cooper now serves in Mr Burnham’s Cabinet as Health Secretary, placing her among those tasked with sustaining public services while the party reorganises its national leadership and messaging.

Her observations will be noted in Westminster for several reasons. First, they are a candid internal assessment from a senior figure who worked closely with Sir Keir. Second, they draw attention to the practical challenge of converting policy development into sustained political capital. Third, they underline the continuing debate inside Labour about how best to combine managerial competence with the rapid-response demands of modern politics, particularly in a media environment shaped by social platforms, a point Ms Cooper said suited Mr Burnham.

The podcast remarks did not include a detailed operational critique or a catalogue of policy failures, but rather an argument about how leadership style affects political effectiveness and public perception. Ms Cooper balanced praise for tangible achievements with a call for greater ministerial and prime ministerial engagement in policy shaping and public presentation.

• Achievements cited: deployment of 3,000 neighbourhood police; fall in NHS waiting times and lists.
• Criticisms: leadership style described as preferring solutions over problem engagement; early government missions lost momentum.
• Political context: remarks delivered after Sir Keir’s resignation and during the transition to Prime Minister Andy Burnham.

Ms Cooper’s reflection contributes to an ongoing conversation in UK politics about leadership, governance and communication. How the new administration under Mr Burnham responds to that conversation will be watched closely by voters and commentators alike.