Sir Keir Starmer has stepped down as Prime Minister, less than two years after taking office. PRWeek asked me, along with others in the industry, for a view on two questions: how he will be remembered as a communicator, and what the change at the top means for public affairs. The two are closely connected.

On the first, this is what I told PRWeek in its assessment of his record:

“History may be kinder to Sir Keir Starmer than the Labour Party, when his time as Prime Minister is reviewed. He delivered a resounding election victory and some significant legislation in his two years as PM but quickly lost the support of voters who were impatient for change.

Yet Keir was not a good communicator. He was not a natural orator, his big speeches didn’t play significantly on the emotions like Blair. He also seemed a little ill at ease with the informal media coverage meaning people didn’t warm to his personality. His biggest failure, though, was in not communicating how he intended to achieve his objectives and any progress made.”

That, for me, is the heart of it. Starmer was a serious and dutiful Prime Minister, but a leader who does not explain his purpose, or show the progress he is making, will struggle to keep the public with him. The clarity that won the 2024 election was never carried into government, and much of his difficulty followed from that.

The more practical question is what the change means now. This is the view I gave PRWeek on the road ahead for the sector:

“As this chapter in Downing Street draws to a close, attention turns to what comes next. For the public affairs sector, change will mean a rapid influx of new ministers, advisers and priorities, requiring careful navigation. If, as is likely, Burnham emerges as the next leader, he will want to demonstrate clear differentiation early on. That is likely to involve a small number of high-profile decisions signalling genuine change. While tighter rules on lobbying seem probable, they are unlikely to sit at the very top of an already crowded list of priorities.”

I would add one point. In a transition like this, it is tempting to assume that everything stops, but in practice, the priorities move rather than disappear. A new administration will want to establish itself quickly and will be receptive to credible ideas that support growth and investment. On the prospect of tighter rules around lobbying, my years on the PRCA Public Affairs Board left me in no doubt that transparency is in the profession’s interest, not against it, and that clearer standards tend to serve everyone well.

None of this changes how I see the work. Public affairs, done properly, is more than access. It is about bridging the priorities of policymakers and the needs of business, openly and grounded in substance. The coming months will be uncertain, but they will also bring opportunities, and I will be following them closely.