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Prime Minister Starmer traveled to north Wales this past Thursday to declare the development of a fresh nuclear energy facility. This is a significant policy event with implications at local and countrywide levels. Yet, the PM did not devote extensive time in Wales to promoting solutions for the UK's power requirements. Instead, he used the time attempting to put an end to the Labour leadership briefing row, informing reporters that No 10 had not briefed against the health secretary's goals in recent days.

Therefore, Sir Keir’s day served as a small-scale example of what his prime ministership has now become 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 incapable to accomplish this because of the way he – and, to an extent, the nation as a whole – now practices politics and government.

The Prime Minister is unable to change the culture of politics single-handedly, but he is able to do something about his personal involvement in it. The plain fact is that he could run the government's core far better than he currently does. If he did this, he might find that the nation was in less dismay about his government than it currently is, and that he was communicating his points more successfully.

Staffing Issues in Downing Street

Some of the issues in Downing Street are about individuals. The interpersonal relations of any No 10 regime are difficult to discern accurately from the exterior. But it seems obvious that Sir Keir fails to make sound staffing decisions, or maintain them. Maybe he is overly occupied. Perhaps he is not really interested. But he needs to up his game, not do things slowly or by halves.

• He hesitated about assigning the key job of top civil servant to a senior official.
• He appointed a former official his chief of staff, then substituted her with Morgan McSweeney.
• He brought Darren Jones in from the Treasury as his deputy.
• His communications chiefs have chopped and changed.
• Political and policy advisers have entered and exited.
• It is a mess.

Structural Challenges at the Heart of the Administration

Every prime minister spend too much time overseas and on foreign affairs, where Sir Keir should delegate more, and insufficient time conversing with MPs and listening to the citizens. Prime ministers also spend too much time engaging with the press, which Sir Keir worsens by doing it poorly. Yet leaders cannot express surprise when their political appointees, who tend to be party loyalists or ambitious in politics, overstep boundaries or become the story, as Mr McSweeney now has.

The most significant problems, though, are structural. It would be good to think that Sir Keir reviewed the a think tank's March 2024 report on reforming the centre of government. His failure to grip these issues last July or since implies he did not. The often abject performance of the Labour administration indicates recommendations like reorganizing the functions of the Cabinet Office and No 10, and dividing the positions of top official and head of the civil service, are now urgent.

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

This isn't Sir Keir’s sole responsibility. He stands as the victim of previous shortcomings along with the architect of current mistakes. Yet individuals who expected Sir Keir might get a grip on the centre and prioritize governmental structures have been let down. Unfortunately, the primary casualty from this failure is Sir Keir himself.