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Prime Minister Starmer traveled to north Wales this past Thursday to announce the development of a new nuclear power station. This represents a significant policy event with implications at local and countrywide levels. However, the prime minister did not dedicate extensive time in Wales to advocating solutions for the UK's power requirements. Instead, he spent it attempting to put an end to the briefing controversy within Labour's leadership, informing journalists that Downing Street had not briefed against the health secretary's goals earlier this week.

As such, Sir Keir’s day acted as a small-scale example of what his premiership has now become overall. Firstly, he desires his government to be doing, and to be seen to be doing, important things. On the other hand, he is unable to achieve this due to the way he – and, to an extent, the country as a whole – now conducts political and governmental affairs.

The Prime Minister cannot transform the culture of politics single-handedly, but he can do something about his personal involvement in it. The plain fact is that he could run the government's core much more effectively than he currently does. Should he achieve this, he might find that the country was in less dismay about his government than it currently is, and that he was communicating his points more successfully.

Staffing Issues in Downing Street

A number of the problems in Number 10 relate to individuals. The personal dynamics of every Downing Street operation are hard to know accurately from the exterior. Yet it appears clear that Sir Keir fails to make good personnel choices, or maintain them. Perhaps he is too busy. Possibly he lacks genuine interest. But he needs to improve his performance, not do things slowly or by halves.

• He dithered about giving the key job of cabinet secretary to Chris Wormald.
• He appointed Sue Gray his chief of staff, then replaced her with a political strategist.
• He recruited a Treasury figure in from the Treasury as his deputy.
• His communications chiefs have been frequently replaced.
• Advisors on politics and policy have entered and exited.
• It is a mess.

Structural Challenges at the Core of the Administration

All premiers spend too much time abroad and on international matters, areas where Sir Keir ought to assign more tasks, and too little conversing with parliamentarians and listening to the citizens. Premiers also allocate too much time engaging with the press, which Sir Keir compounds by performing inadequately. But premiers cannot express surprise when their political appointees, who tend to be party loyalists or ambitious in politics, overstep boundaries or become the story, as the chief of staff now has.

The most significant problems, though, are systemic. It would be good to think that Sir Keir read the a think tank's March 2024 study 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 Labour’s time in office indicates IfG proposals like reorganizing the roles of the central government office and Downing Street, and separating the positions of top official and head of the civil service, are now urgent.

The dominant political role of prime ministers greatly exceeds the support available to them. Consequently, all aspects suffer, and many tasks are poorly executed or ignored.

This isn't Sir Keir’s fault alone. He stands as the casualty of previous shortcomings along with the architect of present ones. But those who hoped 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.