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Sir Keir Starmer traveled to north Wales on Thursday to reveal the construction of a new nuclear power station. This is a major policy announcement with implications at local and countrywide levels. Yet, the prime minister did not devote extensive time in Wales to promoting answers for the UK's power requirements. Instead, he used the time attempting to put an end to the briefing controversy within Labour's leadership, telling reporters that No 10 had not briefed against the health secretary’s ambitions in recent days.

As such, Sir Keir’s day served as a small-scale example of what his prime ministership has evolved into more generally. Firstly, he wants his administration to be doing, and to be perceived as performing, significant actions. Conversely, he is incapable to accomplish this because of the way he – and, partly, the nation as a whole – now practices political and governmental affairs.

Sir Keir is unable to transform the culture of politics single-handedly, 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 far better than he currently does. If he did this, he could discover that the country was in less despair about his administration than it is, and that he was communicating his points more successfully.

Staffing Issues in Downing Street

Some of the issues in Number 10 are about personnel. The interpersonal relations of any No 10 regime are difficult to discern well from outside. But it seems obvious that Sir Keir fails to make sound staffing decisions, or stick with them. Maybe he is overly occupied. Perhaps he is not really interested. However, he must to improve his performance, not do things slowly or incompletely.

• He dithered about giving the key job of cabinet secretary to Chris Wormald.
• He made Sue Gray his chief of staff, then substituted her with a political strategist.
• He brought a Treasury figure in from the finance ministry as his deputy.
• His communications chiefs have chopped and changed.
• Advisors on politics and policy have come and gone.
• It is a mess.

Structural Challenges at the Heart of the Administration

All premiers spend too much time abroad and on foreign affairs, areas where Sir Keir ought to assign more tasks, and too little talking to parliamentarians and hearing the public. Premiers also allocate too much time doing media, which Sir Keir compounds by doing it poorly. Yet leaders cannot express surprise when their politically appointed staff, who tend to be party activists or ambitious in politics, cross lines or become the story, as the chief of staff now has.

The biggest issues, though, are systemic. It would be beneficial to believe that Sir Keir reviewed the Institute for Government’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 frequently dismal performance of the Labour administration suggests IfG proposals like reorganizing the roles of the central government office and No 10, and separating the jobs of top official and head of the civil service, are now urgent.

The political pre-eminence of PMs greatly exceeds the assistance provided to them. Consequently, all aspects suffer, and much is done badly or ignored.

This isn't Sir Keir’s sole responsibility. He stands as the casualty of past failures as well as the author of current mistakes. But those who hoped Sir Keir would take control of the core and prioritize governmental structures have been disappointed. Unfortunately, the primary casualty from this shortcoming is Sir Keir personally.