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Prime Minister Starmer visited north Wales this past Thursday to declare the building of a new nuclear power station. This represents a major policy announcement with both local and national implications. However, the PM did not dedicate extensive time in Wales to promoting solutions for the UK's energy needs. Rather, he spent it attempting to draw a line under the Labour leadership briefing row, telling journalists that No 10 had not undermined the health secretary's goals earlier this week.

Therefore, Sir Keir’s day served as a microcosm of what his prime ministership has now become overall. On the one hand, he wants his government to be doing, and to be perceived as performing, significant actions. Conversely, he is incapable to achieve this because of the way he – and, to an extent, the country 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 plain fact is that he could run the centre of government much more effectively than he does. If he did this, he might find that the country was in less despair about his government than it currently is, and that he was communicating his points more successfully.

Staffing Issues in No 10

Some of the problems in Downing Street are about personnel. The personal dynamics of any No 10 regime are hard to know accurately from the exterior. Yet it appears clear that Sir Keir fails to make sound staffing decisions, or maintain them. Maybe he is overly occupied. Perhaps he is not really interested. However, he must to improve his performance, avoid slow progress or incompletely.

• He hesitated about giving the key job of top civil servant to Chris Wormald.
• He appointed Sue Gray his top aide, then replaced her with Morgan McSweeney.
• He brought Darren Jones in from the Treasury as his chief secretary.
• His communications chiefs have chopped and changed.
• Political and policy advisers have come and gone.
• The situation is chaotic.

Systemic Issues at the Core of Government

All premiers spend too much time abroad and on foreign affairs, areas where Sir Keir ought to assign more tasks, and insufficient time conversing with MPs and listening to the citizens. Premiers also spend too much time doing media, which Sir Keir compounds by performing inadequately. But premiers cannot express surprise when their political appointees, who tend to be party loyalists or ambitious in politics, cross lines or become the story, as Mr McSweeney has recently.

The biggest issues, though, are structural. It would be good to think that Sir Keir read the a think tank'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 frequently dismal experience of the Labour administration indicates IfG proposals like reorganizing the roles of the central government office and Downing Street, and separating the jobs of cabinet secretary and head of the civil service, are currently critical.

The dominant political role of PMs greatly exceeds the assistance provided to them. Consequently, all aspects suffer, and many tasks are poorly executed or neglected.

This is not Sir Keir’s fault alone. He is the victim of past failures along with the author 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. Unfortunately, the primary casualty from this failure is Sir Keir personally.