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Prime Minister Starmer visited north Wales on Thursday to announce the development of a new nuclear power station. This is a significant policy event with both local and national implications. Yet, the PM did not dedicate much 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 journalists that Downing Street had not briefed against the health secretary’s ambitions earlier this week.

Therefore, Sir Keir’s day acted as a small-scale example of what his prime ministership has now become overall. Firstly, he wants his government to be doing, and to be seen to be doing, important things. Conversely, he is incapable to achieve this because of the way he – and, to an extent, the nation 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 simple truth is that he could manage the centre of government much more effectively than he does. If he did this, he could discover that the country was in less despair about his government than it currently is, and that he was communicating his points more successfully.

Staffing Issues in Downing Street

Some of the problems in Downing Street relate to individuals. The personal dynamics of any No 10 regime are hard to know accurately from the exterior. Yet it appears clear that Sir Keir does not make good personnel choices, or stick with them. Maybe he is overly occupied. Perhaps he is not really interested. However, he must to improve his performance, avoid slow progress or by halves.

• He hesitated about giving the key job of top civil servant to a senior official.
• He made Sue Gray his chief of staff, then replaced her with a political strategist.
• He brought a Treasury figure in from the Treasury as his chief secretary.
• His media advisors have been frequently replaced.
• Political and policy advisers have come and gone.
• The situation is chaotic.

Structural Challenges at the Heart of Government

Every prime minister spend too much time overseas and on foreign affairs, areas where Sir Keir ought to assign more tasks, and too little conversing with MPs and hearing the public. Prime ministers also spend too much time engaging with the press, which Sir Keir worsens by performing inadequately. But premiers 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 good to believe that Sir Keir read the Institute for Government’s March 2024 study on reforming the government's central operations. His inability to address these matters last July or afterward suggests he did not. The frequently dismal experience of the Labour administration indicates IfG proposals like restructuring the roles of the Cabinet Office and No 10, and dividing the jobs of cabinet secretary and civil service head, are currently critical.

The dominant political role of PMs far outdistances the support available to them. As a result, all aspects suffer, and many tasks are poorly executed or neglected.

This is not Sir Keir’s sole responsibility. He is the victim of previous shortcomings along with the architect of current mistakes. Yet individuals who expected Sir Keir would take control of the centre and take the machinery of government seriously have been let down. Sadly, the primary casualty from this failure is Sir Keir himself.