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Prime Minister Starmer traveled to north Wales on Thursday to announce the building of a new nuclear power station. This represents a major policy announcement with both local and national implications. Yet, the PM did not devote much time in Wales to advocating solutions for the UK's energy needs. Rather, he spent it attempting to draw a line under the Labour leadership briefing row, telling reporters that No 10 had not undermined the health secretary’s ambitions earlier this week.

As such, Sir Keir’s day acted as a microcosm of what his premiership has evolved into overall. On the one hand, he desires his government to be performing, and to be perceived as performing, significant actions. On the other hand, he is unable to accomplish this due to the manner he – and, partly, the country more generally – now conducts political and governmental affairs.

The Prime Minister is unable to change the political culture single-handedly, but he is able to do something about his personal involvement 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 nation was in less dismay about his government than it is, and that he was communicating his points more effectively.

Personnel Problems in Downing Street

Some of the problems in Downing Street are about individuals. The interpersonal relations of every Downing Street operation are difficult to discern well from outside. But it seems obvious that Sir Keir does not make good personnel choices, or maintain them. Perhaps he is too busy. Perhaps he is not really interested. However, he must to improve his performance, avoid slow progress or by halves.

• He dithered about assigning the crucial role of cabinet secretary to a senior official.
• He made Sue Gray his chief of staff, then replaced her with Morgan McSweeney.
• He recruited Darren Jones in from the finance ministry as his deputy.
• His media advisors have been frequently replaced.
• Political and policy advisers have entered and exited.
• The situation is chaotic.

Systemic Issues at the Core of the Administration

Every prime minister spend too much time overseas and on foreign affairs, where Sir Keir should delegate more, and too little talking to MPs and hearing the public. Prime ministers also allocate too much time engaging with the press, which Sir Keir worsens by doing it poorly. But premiers cannot claim to be surprised when their politically appointed staff, who tend to be party activists or ambitious in politics, overstep boundaries or become the focus, as the chief of staff now has.

The most significant problems, however, are structural. It would be good to believe that Sir Keir reviewed the a think tank's March 2024 study on overhauling the government's central operations. His inability to grip these issues in the summer or since suggests he did not. The frequently dismal performance of the Labour administration indicates IfG proposals like reorganizing the roles of the Cabinet Office and Downing Street, and dividing the jobs of cabinet secretary and head of the civil service, are currently critical.

The political pre-eminence of prime ministers far outdistances the assistance provided to them. Consequently, all aspects suffer, and many tasks are poorly executed or neglected.

This is not Sir Keir’s sole responsibility. He is the casualty of past failures along with 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 shortcoming is Sir Keir himself.