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Prime Minister Starmer visited north Wales on Thursday to announce the building of a new nuclear power station. This is a major policy announcement with implications at local and countrywide levels. Yet, the PM did not devote extensive time in Wales to advocating answers for the UK's power requirements. Rather, he spent it trying to put an end to the Labour leadership briefing row, informing journalists that No 10 had not undermined the health secretary's goals in recent days.

As such, Sir Keir’s day acted as a microcosm of what his premiership has now become more generally. On the one hand, he wants his government to be doing, and to be perceived as performing, significant actions. On the other hand, he is unable to accomplish this because of the manner he – and, partly, the country as a whole – now conducts political and governmental affairs.

The Prime Minister cannot change the political culture on his own, but he can do something about his personal involvement in it. The simple truth is that he could manage the centre of government much more effectively than he does. If he did this, he could discover that the nation was in less despair about his administration than it is, and that he was communicating his points more effectively.

Personnel Problems in No 10

A number of the problems in Number 10 relate to individuals. The interpersonal relations of every Downing Street operation are hard to know well from outside. But it seems obvious that Sir Keir fails to make good personnel choices, or stick with them. Maybe he is overly occupied. Perhaps he is not really interested. However, he must to improve his performance, avoid slow progress or by halves.

• He hesitated about giving the crucial role of top civil servant to a senior official.
• He made Sue Gray his chief of staff, then replaced her with a political strategist.
• He brought Darren Jones in from the finance ministry as his chief secretary.
• His communications chiefs have chopped and changed.
• Advisors on politics and policy have come and gone.
• The situation is chaotic.

Structural Challenges at the Core of Government

Every prime minister devote excessive time overseas and on international matters, where Sir Keir should delegate more, and insufficient time talking to MPs and hearing the public. Premiers also spend too much time doing media, which Sir Keir compounds by doing it poorly. But premiers cannot claim to be surprised when their politically appointed staff, who are often party loyalists or politically ambitious, cross lines or become the story, as the chief of staff now has.

The most significant problems, though, are structural. It would be good to think that Sir Keir reviewed the a think tank's spring 2024 report on reforming the government's central operations. His inability to address these matters in the summer or afterward suggests he did not. The often abject performance of the Labour administration suggests IfG proposals like restructuring the roles of the central government office and No 10, and dividing the positions of top official and civil service head, are currently critical.

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

This isn't Sir Keir’s sole responsibility. He stands as the casualty 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 disappointed. Unfortunately, the primary casualty from this shortcoming is Sir Keir himself.