Starmer government discussed leaving Downing Street over its suitability as a workplace

Keir Starmer's government discussed moving out of 10 Downing Street, the prime minister's official residence and office, over concerns about whether the building was suitable as a workplace, according to BBC News.

James Lyons, who was Keir Starmer's director of communications from October 2024 to September 2025, said that moving out was something discussed during his time in post. Two other senior figures confirmed that discussions took place about moving Downing Street staff into open-plan space, meaning shared offices without separate rooms, in another government department.

A source said a space inside the Foreign Office building, a short distance from Downing Street, had been identified for the potential staff move. The discussions did not go beyond an early phase. It is not known whether Keir Starmer himself was consulted.

The proposal did not involve the prime minister stopping living in Downing Street.

Criticism of the building has come from other quarters too. Lord Walker, head of the supermarket Iceland and a former adviser to Keir Starmer, told the Financial Times that Number 10 was no longer fit for purpose. James Lyons said staff were deeply envious of other departments, and he described the building as a gloomy, mice-infested, bomb-curtained rabbit warren.

The building itself is more than 300 years old. It was formed from three houses and has more than 100 rooms.

A former cost-of-living tsar to Keir Starmer said, in comments reported by the Telegraph, that 10 Downing Street should be turned into a museum or flats.