What's behind Keir Starmer's Downing Street reshuffle?

Keir Starmer is making a habit of this – A year ago, when Westminster was returning from its summer recess, the Prime Minister was still only a few months into the job.

His chief of staff had only a few weeks left in hers. Remember Sue Gray? Starmer poached the high-profile civil service inquisitor to lead his office and help get the Labour Party ready for the return to government.

When those first few months suggested Labour was a way short of being ready, Gray paid the price.

It’s the start of another new term at Westminster, and it’s brought another clear-out in 10 Downing Street.

There are new names in charge of both the policy and communications departments – neither will be recognisable to anyone outside of the black-doored building.

But their appointment clarifies who’s in charge of key bits of the government machine: over the past year, there were two people managing communications, and four with a handle on policy.

You might think, no wonder this government has struggled to set a clear direction.

But the Prime Minister’s ruthless habit of making deputy heads roll is prompting criticism from some within his own party, that Starmer is failing to set a clear direction himself.

Some even question whether the Prime Minister is clear about what his own vision for government is.

The other key personnel change as parliament returns is an appointment, rather than a sacking. Darren Jones, the number two minister at the Treasury, is being given a new job in Number 10.

It’s rare for an MP to work at the heart of the Prime Minister’s office, but Jones has been the minister most trusted to go out in the media over the past year to defend the government’s controversial decisions.

The hope must be that Jones can do a better job of bringing together economic and political decision-making and translating the Prime Minister’s agenda into action.

He’s got a tough job ahead of him. Nigel Farage’s Reform UK is stretching its lead in the polls; Keir Starmer’s Labour is at a near-historic low, suffering one of the quickest collapses in popularity of any new government.

That’s why the UK Government is also marking the start of this new parliamentary term with a series of announcements on migration, trying to show it gets the rising public anger and concern over Channel crossings and the use of hotels to house asylum seekers.

On Monday, the Home Secretary will say she’s making it harder for refugees to bring their families to the UK; a tougher appeals regime for rejected asylum claims has already been unveiled.

And even though the UK Government has fought attempts to close a hotel used to house asylum seekers in Epping, just outside London, ministers from Starmer down are pledging to end the use of hotels entirely, within this parliament.

In an interview to mark the return of MPs to Westminster, the Prime Minister said his government is moving into a “second phase”, focused on “delivery, delivery, delivery”.

His behind-the-scenes reshuffle suggests he blames the people who work for him for what’s been delivered so far.