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Prime Minister Starmer visited Wales' northern region this past Thursday to declare the development of a fresh nuclear energy facility. This represents a major policy announcement with both local and national implications. However, the PM did not devote much time in Wales to promoting solutions for the UK's energy needs. Instead, he spent it trying to put an end to the Labour leadership briefing row, informing journalists that Downing Street had not briefed against the health secretary's goals earlier this week.

As such, Sir Keir’s day served as a microcosm of what his prime ministership has evolved into overall. On the one hand, he wants his government to be performing, and to be perceived as performing, important things. Conversely, he is unable to accomplish this due to the way he – and, to an extent, the nation as a whole – now practices political and governmental affairs.

Sir Keir cannot change the political culture single-handedly, but he can take action about his own role in it. The simple truth is that he could run the centre of government much more effectively than he currently does. Should he achieve this, he might find that the nation was in less dismay about his administration than it is, and that he was getting his messages across more effectively.

Staffing Issues in No 10

Some of the issues in Downing Street relate to personnel. The personal dynamics of every Downing Street operation are difficult to discern accurately from the exterior. But it seems obvious that Sir Keir fails to make good personnel choices, or maintain them. Perhaps he is too busy. Perhaps he is not really interested. However, he must to improve his performance, avoid slow progress or by halves.

• He dithered about assigning the key job of top civil servant to a senior official.
• He made a former official his top aide, then replaced her with Morgan McSweeney.
• He brought Darren Jones in from the Treasury as his chief secretary.
• His media advisors have been frequently replaced.
• Political and policy advisers have entered and exited.
• It is a mess.

Systemic Issues at the Heart of the Administration

All premiers spend too much time abroad and on foreign affairs, where Sir Keir should delegate more, and too little conversing with parliamentarians and hearing the public. Prime ministers also allocate too much time engaging with the press, which Sir Keir worsens by performing inadequately. But premiers cannot claim to be surprised when their politically appointed staff, who are often party loyalists or politically ambitious, overstep boundaries or become the focus, as the chief of staff now has.

The most significant problems, however, are structural. It would be good to think that Sir Keir read the a think tank's spring 2024 report on overhauling the centre of government. His failure to grip these issues in the summer or since suggests he did not. The often abject experience of the Labour administration suggests IfG proposals like reorganizing the roles of the central government office and No 10, and dividing the positions of cabinet secretary and head of the civil service, are currently critical.

The dominant political role of PMs far outdistances the assistance provided to them. Consequently, everything currently suffers, and much is done badly or neglected.

This is not Sir Keir’s fault alone. He stands as the victim of past failures along with the architect of current mistakes. But those who hoped Sir Keir would take control of the core and take the machinery of government seriously have been disappointed. Unfortunately, the biggest loser from this failure is Sir Keir himself.