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Prime Minister Starmer traveled to Wales' northern region this past Thursday to reveal the development of a new nuclear power station. This is a major policy announcement with implications at local and countrywide levels. Yet, the prime minister did not dedicate much time in Wales to advocating answers for the UK's energy needs. Instead, he spent it trying to draw a line under the Labour leadership briefing row, informing reporters that No 10 had not briefed against the health secretary's goals in recent days.

As such, Sir Keir’s day served as a microcosm of what his prime ministership has evolved into overall. Firstly, he wants his administration to be performing, and to be seen to be doing, important things. On the other hand, he is incapable to achieve this due to the way he – and, partly, the country as a whole – now practices political and governmental affairs.

Sir Keir cannot transform the political culture single-handedly, but he can do something about his own role in it. The plain fact 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 despair about his government than it currently is, and that he was communicating his points more successfully.

Personnel Problems in No 10

A number of the issues in Number 10 are about 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 sound staffing decisions, or stick with them. Maybe he is overly occupied. Perhaps he is not really interested. But he needs to up his game, not do things slowly or by halves.

• He hesitated about assigning the crucial role of top civil servant to a senior official.
• He appointed a former official his top aide, then substituted her with Morgan McSweeney.
• He recruited Darren Jones in from the Treasury as his deputy.
• His media advisors have chopped and changed.
• Political and policy advisers have entered and exited.
• The situation is chaotic.

Systemic Issues at the Heart of Government

All premiers devote excessive time overseas and on foreign affairs, where Sir Keir should delegate more, and too little conversing with parliamentarians and listening to the public. Premiers also spend too much time engaging with the press, which Sir Keir worsens by doing it poorly. But premiers cannot claim to be surprised when their political appointees, who are often party loyalists or politically ambitious, cross lines or become the story, as Mr McSweeney now has.

The biggest issues, though, are systemic. It would be beneficial to believe that Sir Keir read the Institute for Government’s March 2024 report on reforming 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 Labour’s time in office suggests recommendations like reorganizing the roles of the Cabinet Office and No 10, and separating the positions of top official and civil service head, are now urgent.

The political pre-eminence of PMs far outdistances the assistance provided to them. Consequently, everything currently suffers, and many tasks are poorly executed or ignored.

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