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Sir Keir Starmer traveled to Wales' northern region on Thursday to declare the building of a new nuclear power station. This represents a significant policy event with both local and national implications. Yet, the PM did not devote much time in Wales to advocating solutions for the UK's power requirements. Instead, he used the time attempting to draw a line under the Labour leadership briefing row, informing reporters that Downing Street had not briefed against the health secretary's goals earlier this week.

Therefore, Sir Keir’s day served as a microcosm of what his premiership has now become overall. On the one hand, he wants his administration to be performing, and to be perceived as performing, significant actions. Conversely, he is incapable to achieve this because of the manner he – and, to an extent, the country more generally – now conducts political and governmental affairs.

Sir Keir is unable to transform the political culture on his own, but he is able to take action about his own role 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 despair about his government than it currently is, and that he was getting his messages across more effectively.

Personnel Problems in No 10

A number of the problems in Downing Street are about personnel. The personal dynamics of every Downing Street operation are hard to know accurately from the exterior. Yet it appears clear that Sir Keir does not make sound staffing decisions, or maintain them. Maybe he is overly occupied. Perhaps he is not really interested. But he needs to improve his performance, not do things slowly or incompletely.

• He dithered about assigning the crucial role of cabinet secretary to Chris Wormald.
• He made a former official his top aide, then replaced her with a political strategist.
• He recruited Darren Jones in from the finance ministry as his chief secretary.
• His media advisors have chopped and changed.
• Political and policy advisers have come and gone.
• The situation is chaotic.

Structural Challenges at the Core of Government

Every prime minister spend too much time abroad and on international matters, where Sir Keir should delegate more, and insufficient time conversing with MPs and listening to the public. Prime ministers also spend too much time doing media, which Sir Keir compounds by performing inadequately. But premiers cannot express surprise when their politically appointed staff, who are often party loyalists or politically ambitious, cross lines or become the focus, as Mr McSweeney has recently.

The most significant problems, however, are structural. It would be beneficial to think that Sir Keir reviewed the a think tank's March 2024 report on reforming the government's central operations. His inability to address these matters in the summer or since implies he did not. The often abject performance of the Labour administration suggests recommendations like restructuring the functions of the central government office and Downing Street, and separating the positions of top official and head of the civil service, are currently critical.

The dominant political role of prime ministers 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 is the casualty of previous shortcomings along with 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 personally.