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Sir Keir Starmer traveled to Wales' northern region this past Thursday to declare the building of a fresh nuclear energy facility. This represents a significant policy event with both local and national implications. However, the PM did not devote much time in Wales to promoting solutions for the UK's power requirements. Instead, he used the time attempting to draw a line under the Labour leadership briefing row, informing journalists that Downing Street had not undermined 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 more generally. Firstly, he wants his administration to be doing, and to be seen to be doing, important things. On the other hand, he is unable to achieve this because of the manner he – and, partly, the nation more generally – now conducts political and governmental affairs.

Sir Keir is unable to transform the culture of politics on his own, but he can take action about his personal involvement in it. The simple truth is that he could run the government's core far better than he does. Should he achieve this, he might find that the country was in less despair about his administration than it is, and that he was getting his messages across more successfully.

Personnel Problems in Downing Street

A number of the problems in Number 10 are about personnel. The personal dynamics of any No 10 regime are hard to know well from outside. But it seems obvious that Sir Keir does not make sound staffing decisions, 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 hesitated about assigning the crucial role of cabinet secretary to Chris Wormald.
• He made Sue Gray his top aide, then substituted her with Morgan McSweeney.
• He brought Darren Jones in from the finance ministry as his chief secretary.
• His communications chiefs have been frequently replaced.
• Advisors on politics and policy have come and gone.
• It is a mess.

Structural Challenges at the Core of the Administration

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 citizens. Prime ministers also allocate too much time engaging with the press, which Sir Keir worsens by doing it poorly. Yet leaders cannot claim to be surprised when their political appointees, who tend to be party activists or ambitious in politics, cross lines or become the story, as the chief of staff now has.

The most significant problems, however, are structural. It would be beneficial to think that Sir Keir reviewed the a think tank's spring 2024 report on reforming the government's central operations. His inability to address these matters in the summer or afterward implies he did not. The frequently dismal experience of the Labour administration indicates IfG proposals like reorganizing the roles of the Cabinet Office and Downing Street, and separating the jobs of top official and civil service head, are currently critical.

The political pre-eminence of prime ministers greatly exceeds the support available to them. Consequently, everything currently suffers, and many tasks are poorly executed or ignored.

This isn't Sir Keir’s fault alone. He is the victim of previous shortcomings as well as the architect of present ones. Yet individuals who expected Sir Keir would take control of the core and take the machinery of government seriously have been disappointed. Sadly, the primary casualty from this shortcoming is Sir Keir himself.