‘Ridiculous’ No 10 better off as a museum, says ex-Starmer aide

No 10 Downing Street should be turned into a museum or flats, Sir Keir Starmer’s former cost-of-living tsar has said. The building, which has been the official residence of the Prime Minister of Great Britain since the 1700s, is “not fit for purpose”, according to Lord Walker of Broxton . Lord Walker, the chairman of Iceland supermarket and former cost of living tsar, called the 300-year-old building “not conducive to collaborative working”, with officials struggling to book “tiny” meeting rooms.

He told The Financial Times : “I think we should turn it into residences, or a museum. It’s a national treasure. It’s amazing. But it’s ridiculous. It’s just a Stuart-era building, not fit for purpose. It has tiny, tiny meeting rooms, all on different levels. There are hazards.” The Whitehall office has been the nerve centre of government since 1735, when George II gave the building to Britain’s first prime minister, Sir Robert Walpole.

It also incorporates 11 Downing Street, the chancellor’s official residence, and 12 Downing Street, which houses the prime minister’s strategic communications unit. Darren Jones, who served as chief secretary to Sir Keir, chimed in on the criticism, saying it was “mad” to run the government from a 1680s townhouse. He told the FT that No 10 should be used for Cabinet meetings and visiting dignitaries only. Guto Harri, who served as Downing Street ’s director of communications under Boris Johnson, said the building was “hopeless”.

Officials have reportedly complained about poor phone signal, lack of space and rooms being former bedrooms or pantries. Jonathan Powell, who was chief of staff under Tony Blair and is now national security adviser, previously said his biggest regret in government was not moving the Blair operation into the QEII centre, which is near Whitehall. In July 1957, Harold Macmillan, as prime minister, appointed the independent Crawford Committee to investigate how best to deal with the deteriorating Downing Street buildings.

The investigation found that they were in a much worse condition than had previously been thought. A team of former miners sent to reconstruct the houses’ timber foundations found they had been “severely water damaged, rotted and crumbling”, as well as being “structurally unsound”. The walls of Downing Street’s superstructure were found to consist of rubble with timber, rather than proper brickwork, creating the ideal conditions for dry rot, with many “suffering from insect damage”.

After major renovations to the government hub, Macmillan moved back into Downing Street in September 1963, more than a year later than initially anticipated. No 10 has been contacted for comment.