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Prime Minister Starmer visited Wales' northern region on Thursday to announce 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 devote much time in Wales to promoting solutions for the UK's power requirements. Rather, he spent it trying 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 ambitions earlier this week.

As such, Sir Keir’s day acted as a small-scale example of what his premiership has evolved into overall. Firstly, he wants his administration to be doing, and to be seen to be doing, important things. Conversely, he is unable to achieve this because of the way he – and, partly, the nation more generally – now conducts political and governmental affairs.

The Prime Minister is unable to transform the culture of politics single-handedly, but he can take action about his personal involvement in it. The plain fact is that he could run the centre of government far better than he does. If he did this, he could discover that the nation was in less despair about his administration than it currently is, and that he was communicating his points more effectively.

Staffing Issues in Downing Street

A number of the issues in Number 10 relate to individuals. The interpersonal relations of any No 10 regime are difficult to discern well from outside. But it seems obvious that Sir Keir does not make good personnel choices, or stick with them. Perhaps he is too busy. Perhaps he is not really interested. However, he must to up his game, avoid slow progress or by halves.

• He hesitated about giving the crucial role of top civil servant to a senior official.
• He appointed a former official his top aide, then replaced her with Morgan McSweeney.
• He brought a Treasury figure in from the finance ministry as his chief secretary.
• His media advisors have chopped and changed.
• Political and policy advisers have come and gone.
• It is a mess.

Systemic Issues at the Heart of the Administration

All premiers devote excessive time abroad and on international matters, areas where Sir Keir ought to assign more tasks, and too little talking to parliamentarians and listening to the citizens. Prime ministers also allocate too much time engaging with the press, which Sir Keir compounds by performing inadequately. Yet leaders cannot express surprise when their politically appointed staff, who are often party loyalists or politically ambitious, overstep boundaries or become the story, as the chief of staff now has.

The biggest issues, though, are systemic. It would be beneficial to think that Sir Keir read the Institute for Government’s March 2024 report on overhauling the government's central operations. His inability to grip these issues in the summer or since suggests he did not. The often abject performance of Labour’s time in office suggests recommendations like restructuring the roles of the Cabinet Office and No 10, and separating the positions of top official and civil service head, are currently critical.

The political pre-eminence of prime ministers far outdistances the assistance provided to them. As a result, everything currently suffers, 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. Yet individuals who expected Sir Keir would take control of the core and prioritize governmental structures have been disappointed. Sadly, the primary casualty from this shortcoming is Sir Keir himself.