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Sir Keir Starmer visited Wales' northern region this past Thursday to announce the building of a new nuclear power station. This represents a major policy announcement with implications at local and countrywide levels. However, the PM did not devote extensive time in Wales to advocating answers for the UK's power requirements. Rather, he used the time attempting to put an end to the Labour leadership briefing row, telling reporters that No 10 had not undermined the health secretary’s ambitions earlier this week.

Therefore, Sir Keir’s day served as a small-scale example of what his prime ministership has now become overall. Firstly, he wants his administration to be doing, and to be perceived as performing, important things. Conversely, he is unable to achieve this due to the way he – and, partly, the country more generally – now practices political and governmental affairs.

Sir Keir is unable to transform the culture of politics on his own, but he is able to do something about his own role in it. The plain fact is that he could manage the centre of government much more effectively than he currently does. Should he achieve this, he might find that the nation was in less despair about his government than it currently is, and that he was getting his messages across more successfully.

Personnel Problems in No 10

Some of the problems in Number 10 relate to individuals. The personal dynamics of any No 10 regime are hard to know well from outside. But it seems obvious that Sir Keir does not make good personnel choices, or stick with them. Perhaps he is too busy. Perhaps he is not really interested. But he needs to improve his performance, not do things slowly or by halves.

• He dithered about giving the key job of cabinet secretary to Chris Wormald.
• He appointed a former official his chief of staff, then substituted her with Morgan McSweeney.
• He recruited Darren Jones in from the Treasury as his chief secretary.
• His media advisors have chopped and changed.
• Advisors on politics and policy have entered and exited.
• It is a mess.

Structural Challenges at the Core of Government

Every prime minister devote excessive time overseas and on foreign affairs, where Sir Keir should delegate more, and insufficient time talking to MPs and listening to the public. Prime ministers also spend too much time engaging with the press, which Sir Keir worsens by performing inadequately. But premiers cannot express surprise when their politically appointed staff, who tend to be party loyalists or politically ambitious, overstep boundaries or become the story, as Mr McSweeney now has.

The most significant problems, however, are structural. It would be good to think that Sir Keir reviewed the Institute for Government’s spring 2024 report on reforming the government's central operations. His inability to address these matters last July or afterward suggests he did not. The often abject experience of Labour’s time in office suggests recommendations like restructuring the roles of the Cabinet Office and No 10, and separating the jobs of top official and civil service head, are currently critical.

The dominant political role of prime ministers far outdistances the assistance provided to them. As a result, everything currently suffers, and many tasks are poorly executed or ignored.

This isn't Sir Keir’s fault alone. He is the casualty of past failures as well as the author of current mistakes. Yet individuals who expected Sir Keir would take control of the core and prioritize governmental structures have been let down. Unfortunately, the biggest loser from this failure is Sir Keir himself.