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Prime Minister Starmer visited north Wales this past Thursday to declare the development of a new nuclear power station. This represents a major policy announcement with both local and national implications. However, the PM did not dedicate extensive time in Wales to promoting solutions for the UK's power requirements. Rather, he spent it trying to put an end to the Labour leadership briefing row, telling reporters that No 10 had not undermined the health secretary’s ambitions in recent days.

As such, Sir Keir’s day served as a small-scale example of what his prime ministership has evolved into overall. Firstly, he desires his government to be performing, and to be seen to be doing, significant actions. Conversely, he is incapable to accomplish this because of the manner he – and, to an extent, the nation more generally – now conducts political and governmental affairs.

Sir Keir cannot change the political culture on his own, but he can take action about his personal involvement in it. The plain fact is that he could run the government's core far better than he does. If he did this, he could discover that the nation was in less dismay about his government than it currently is, and that he was getting his messages across more successfully.

Personnel Problems in Downing Street

A number of the problems in Downing Street are about personnel. The interpersonal relations of any No 10 regime are hard to know well from outside. Yet it appears clear that Sir Keir does not make sound staffing decisions, or stick with them. Perhaps he is too busy. Possibly he lacks genuine interest. However, he must to up his game, 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 top aide, then replaced her with Morgan McSweeney.
• He recruited a Treasury figure in from the Treasury as his deputy.
• His media advisors have chopped and changed.
• Advisors on politics and policy have entered and exited.
• It is a mess.

Structural Challenges at the Heart of the Administration

Every prime minister devote excessive time abroad and on foreign affairs, areas where Sir Keir ought to assign more tasks, and insufficient time conversing with parliamentarians and hearing the public. Prime ministers also allocate too much time doing media, which Sir Keir compounds by performing inadequately. But premiers cannot express surprise when their political appointees, who are often party activists or ambitious in politics, cross lines or become the focus, as Mr McSweeney has recently.

The most significant problems, though, are structural. It would be beneficial to think that Sir Keir reviewed the a think tank's March 2024 report on overhauling the government's central operations. 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 Cabinet Office and Downing Street, and separating the jobs of top official and head of the civil service, are now urgent.

The political pre-eminence of prime ministers far outdistances the assistance provided to them. Consequently, all aspects suffer, and much is done badly or ignored.

This is not Sir Keir’s fault alone. He stands as the victim of past failures as well as the architect of current mistakes. Yet individuals who expected Sir Keir would take control of the core and prioritize governmental structures have been disappointed. Unfortunately, the biggest loser from this failure is Sir Keir himself.