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Sir Keir Starmer visited north Wales this past Thursday to reveal the building of a fresh nuclear energy facility. This represents a significant policy event with both local and national implications. Yet, the PM did not devote extensive time in Wales to advocating answers for the UK's power requirements. Instead, he spent it attempting to put an end to the briefing controversy within Labour's leadership, telling journalists that No 10 had not briefed against the health secretary’s ambitions earlier this week.

Therefore, Sir Keir’s day served as a microcosm of what his premiership has evolved into more generally. On the one hand, he desires his government to be doing, and to be perceived as performing, important things. Conversely, he is unable to accomplish this because of the manner he – and, to an extent, the nation as a whole – now practices politics and government.

The Prime Minister is unable to change the political culture on his own, but he is able to take action about his own role in it. The simple truth is that he could run the centre of government much more effectively than he currently does. If he did this, he could discover that the nation was in less dismay about his administration than it is, and that he was getting his messages across more effectively.

Personnel Problems in No 10

Some of the issues in Number 10 relate to personnel. The interpersonal relations of every Downing Street operation are hard to know accurately from the exterior. Yet it appears clear that Sir Keir does not make good personnel choices, or maintain them. Maybe he is overly occupied. Perhaps he is not really interested. However, he must to improve his performance, not do things slowly or by halves.

• He hesitated about assigning the key job of cabinet secretary to Chris Wormald.
• He appointed Sue Gray his top aide, then substituted her with Morgan McSweeney.
• He brought a Treasury figure in from the Treasury as his deputy.
• His communications chiefs have chopped and changed.
• Political and policy advisers have entered and exited.
• The situation is chaotic.

Systemic Issues at the Heart of Government

All premiers spend too much time overseas and on international matters, where Sir Keir should delegate more, and insufficient time talking to parliamentarians and listening to the public. Prime ministers also allocate too much time engaging with the press, which Sir Keir compounds 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 focus, as Mr McSweeney now has.

The biggest issues, though, are structural. It would be good to think that Sir Keir reviewed the Institute for Government’s spring 2024 study on overhauling the government's central operations. His inability to grip these issues in the summer or since implies he did not. The often abject experience of Labour’s time in office indicates recommendations like restructuring the roles of the central government office and No 10, and dividing the positions of top official and head of the civil service, are now urgent.

The dominant political role of PMs greatly exceeds the support available to them. As a result, everything currently suffers, and much is done badly or neglected.

This is not Sir Keir’s sole responsibility. He is the casualty of previous shortcomings along with the architect of current mistakes. Yet individuals who expected Sir Keir would take control of the centre and prioritize governmental structures have been let down. Sadly, the biggest loser from this failure is Sir Keir personally.