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Prime Minister Starmer traveled to 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. Yet, the prime minister did not devote much time in Wales to advocating solutions for the UK's energy needs. Rather, he spent it trying to draw a line under the briefing controversy within Labour's leadership, informing journalists that No 10 had not briefed against the health secretary’s ambitions earlier this week.

Therefore, Sir Keir’s day acted as a small-scale example of what his premiership has evolved into more generally. On the one hand, he wants his administration to be performing, and to be perceived as performing, significant actions. Conversely, he is incapable to accomplish this because of the manner he – and, partly, the nation more generally – now practices political and governmental affairs.

The Prime Minister cannot change the political culture single-handedly, but he can take action about his personal involvement in it. The simple truth is that he could manage the government's core far better than he does. Should he achieve this, he could discover that the nation was in less despair about his government than it is, and that he was getting his messages across more effectively.

Personnel Problems in No 10

Some of the issues in Downing Street relate to personnel. The interpersonal relations 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 maintain them. Maybe he is overly occupied. Perhaps he is not really interested. However, he must to up his game, not do things slowly or by halves.

• He hesitated about assigning the crucial role of cabinet secretary to a senior official.
• He appointed a former official his top aide, then replaced her with Morgan McSweeney.
• He brought a Treasury figure in from the finance ministry as his chief secretary.
• His media advisors have been frequently replaced.
• Political and policy advisers have come and gone.
• The situation is chaotic.

Structural Challenges at the Heart of the Administration

Every prime minister spend too much time overseas and on international matters, where Sir Keir should delegate more, and too little talking to MPs and listening to the public. Prime ministers also allocate too much time engaging with the press, which Sir Keir compounds by doing it poorly. But premiers cannot claim to be surprised when their politically appointed staff, who tend to be party activists or politically ambitious, cross lines or become the focus, as Mr McSweeney has recently.

The biggest issues, however, are systemic. It would be good to think that Sir Keir reviewed the a think tank's spring 2024 study on reforming the government's central operations. His inability to address these matters last July or since suggests he did not. The often abject performance of the Labour administration indicates IfG proposals like reorganizing the functions of the central government office and Downing Street, and dividing the jobs of cabinet secretary and civil service head, are currently critical.

The dominant political role of PMs greatly exceeds the support available to them. As a result, everything currently suffers, and much is done badly or ignored.

This isn't Sir Keir’s sole responsibility. He stands as the victim of past failures as well as the architect of present ones. Yet individuals who expected Sir Keir would take control of the centre and prioritize governmental structures have been let down. Unfortunately, the primary casualty from this shortcoming is Sir Keir personally.