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Prime Minister Starmer visited north Wales this past Thursday to declare the building of a new nuclear power station. This is a significant policy event with both local and national implications. However, the prime minister did not dedicate extensive time in Wales to promoting solutions for the UK's energy needs. Rather, he used the time trying to draw a line under the briefing controversy within Labour's leadership, telling journalists that Downing Street had not briefed against the health secretary’s ambitions in recent days.

Therefore, Sir Keir’s day acted as a small-scale example of what his prime ministership has now become more generally. On the one hand, he desires his administration to be doing, and to be perceived as performing, significant actions. Conversely, he is incapable to achieve this because of the way he – and, to an extent, the country more generally – now practices politics and government.

Sir Keir is unable to transform the culture of politics on his own, but he is able to take action about his own role in it. The plain fact is that he could manage the government's core much more effectively than he currently does. If he did this, he could discover that the country was in less dismay about his government than it is, and that he was getting his messages across more effectively.

Personnel Problems in No 10

A number of the problems in Downing Street relate to individuals. The interpersonal relations of every Downing Street operation are difficult to discern accurately from the exterior. Yet it appears clear that Sir Keir does not 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 incompletely.

• He dithered about giving the crucial role of top civil servant to Chris Wormald.
• He made a former official his chief of staff, 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.
• Advisors on politics and policy have entered and exited.
• The situation is chaotic.

Structural Challenges at the Core of the Administration

All premiers spend too much time overseas and on international matters, where Sir Keir should delegate more, and too little conversing with MPs and listening to the citizens. Prime ministers also allocate too much time engaging with the press, which Sir Keir compounds by performing inadequately. Yet leaders cannot express surprise when their political appointees, who are often party loyalists or ambitious in politics, overstep boundaries or become the story, as the chief of staff has recently.

The most significant problems, however, are structural. It would be beneficial to believe that Sir Keir read the a think tank's March 2024 report on overhauling the government's central operations. His failure to address these matters last July or afterward implies he did not. The often abject performance of Labour’s time in office suggests recommendations like restructuring the functions of the central government office and No 10, and dividing the jobs of top official and civil service head, are now urgent.

The political pre-eminence of prime ministers greatly exceeds the assistance provided to them. Consequently, everything currently suffers, and much is done badly or neglected.

This isn't Sir Keir’s sole responsibility. He stands as the victim of previous shortcomings as well as the architect of present ones. But those who hoped Sir Keir would take control of the core and prioritize governmental structures have been disappointed. Sadly, the biggest loser from this failure is Sir Keir himself.