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Prime Minister Starmer visited north Wales on Thursday to declare the development of a new nuclear power station. This is a major policy announcement with both local and national implications. Yet, the prime minister did not dedicate extensive time in Wales to advocating solutions for the UK's power requirements. Rather, he used the time attempting to put an end to the briefing controversy within Labour's leadership, telling reporters that Downing Street had not undermined the health secretary's goals earlier this week.

Therefore, Sir Keir’s day served as a small-scale example of what his premiership has evolved into overall. On the one hand, he desires his administration to be doing, and to be seen to be doing, significant actions. Conversely, he is incapable to accomplish this due to the manner he – and, partly, the nation as a whole – now conducts political and governmental affairs.

The Prime Minister is unable to transform the culture of politics single-handedly, but he can do something about his personal involvement in it. The simple truth is that he could manage the centre of government far better than he 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

Some of the problems in Number 10 relate to individuals. The personal dynamics of any No 10 regime are difficult to discern well from outside. But it seems obvious that Sir Keir fails to make good personnel choices, or stick with them. Maybe he is overly occupied. Possibly he lacks genuine interest. But he needs to up his game, avoid slow progress or by halves.

• He hesitated about giving the crucial role of top civil servant to Chris Wormald.
• He made a former official his chief of staff, then replaced her with a political strategist.
• He recruited Darren Jones in from the Treasury as his chief secretary.
• His communications chiefs have chopped and changed.
• Political and policy advisers have entered and exited.
• The situation is chaotic.

Systemic Issues 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 talking to MPs and hearing the citizens. Premiers also allocate too much time doing media, which Sir Keir worsens by performing inadequately. Yet leaders cannot express surprise when their politically appointed staff, who tend to be party activists or ambitious in politics, cross lines or become the focus, as Mr McSweeney has recently.

The most significant problems, though, are systemic. It would be good to believe that Sir Keir read the Institute for Government’s March 2024 study on overhauling the government's central operations. His inability to address these matters in the summer or afterward implies he did not. The often abject experience of the Labour administration suggests IfG proposals like restructuring the functions of the central government office and Downing Street, and dividing the positions of cabinet secretary and civil service head, are now urgent.

The dominant political role of PMs greatly exceeds the support available to them. Consequently, everything currently suffers, and many tasks are poorly executed or neglected.

This is not Sir Keir’s fault alone. He is the casualty of past failures as well as the author of current mistakes. But those who hoped Sir Keir might get a grip on the centre and prioritize governmental structures have been let down. Sadly, the primary casualty from this failure is Sir Keir personally.