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Prime Minister Starmer traveled to north Wales on Thursday to announce the development of a fresh nuclear energy facility. This represents a major policy announcement with implications at local and countrywide levels. However, the PM did not dedicate extensive time in Wales to promoting answers for the UK's energy needs. Instead, he used the time trying to put an end to the Labour leadership briefing row, telling reporters that No 10 had not briefed against the health secretary’s ambitions earlier this week.

Therefore, Sir Keir’s day acted as a small-scale example of what his premiership has evolved into more generally. On the one hand, he desires his administration to be doing, and to be perceived as performing, important things. Conversely, he is unable to achieve this because of the manner he – and, to an extent, the country as a whole – now practices politics and government.

Sir Keir cannot change the political culture single-handedly, but he can do something about his own role in it. The simple truth is that he could manage the centre of government much more effectively than he does. If he did this, he might find that the country was in less dismay about his administration than it is, and that he was communicating his points more effectively.

Personnel Problems in Downing Street

Some of the issues in Downing Street relate to personnel. The personal dynamics of any No 10 regime are hard to know well from outside. Yet it appears clear that Sir Keir fails to make good personnel choices, or stick with them. Perhaps he is too busy. Perhaps he is not really interested. But he needs to up his game, avoid slow progress or incompletely.

• He dithered about giving the key job of top civil servant to Chris Wormald.
• He appointed a former official his chief of staff, then replaced her with Morgan McSweeney.
• He brought a Treasury figure in from the finance ministry as his deputy.
• His media advisors have chopped and changed.
• Advisors on politics and policy have entered and exited.
• The situation is chaotic.

Structural Challenges at the Heart of Government

All premiers spend too much time overseas and on foreign affairs, areas where Sir Keir ought to assign more tasks, and insufficient time talking to parliamentarians and listening to the public. Premiers also allocate too much time doing media, which Sir Keir worsens by doing it poorly. But premiers cannot express surprise when their politically appointed staff, who tend to be party loyalists or politically ambitious, cross lines or become the focus, as Mr McSweeney has recently.

The biggest issues, however, are systemic. 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 suggests he did not. The frequently dismal performance of Labour’s time in office suggests recommendations like reorganizing the roles of the central government office and No 10, and separating the jobs of cabinet secretary and civil service head, are currently critical.

The political pre-eminence of PMs greatly exceeds the support available to them. Consequently, everything currently suffers, and much is done badly or neglected.

This is not Sir Keir’s fault alone. He stands as the casualty of previous shortcomings along with the author of current mistakes. Yet individuals who expected Sir Keir would take control of the centre and prioritize governmental structures have been disappointed. Sadly, the biggest loser from this shortcoming is Sir Keir personally.