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Prime Minister Starmer traveled to north Wales on Thursday to declare the building of a fresh nuclear energy facility. This is a major policy announcement with both local and national implications. However, the prime minister did not devote much time in Wales to advocating answers for the UK's power requirements. Rather, he spent it trying to put an end to the Labour leadership briefing row, informing reporters that No 10 had not undermined the health secretary’s ambitions earlier this week.

Therefore, Sir Keir’s day acted as a microcosm of what his premiership has now become overall. On the one hand, he wants his government to be doing, and to be perceived as performing, significant actions. On the other hand, he is incapable to accomplish this due to the way he – and, partly, the country more generally – now conducts politics and government.

Sir Keir is unable to transform the culture of politics on his own, but he can do something about his personal involvement in it. The plain fact is that he could run the government's core far better than he does. Should he achieve this, he might find that the country 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

A number of the problems in Downing Street are about personnel. The interpersonal relations of any No 10 regime are hard to know well from outside. Yet it appears clear that Sir Keir does not make good personnel choices, or stick with them. Maybe he is overly occupied. Perhaps he is not really interested. But he needs to improve his performance, not do things slowly or incompletely.

• He dithered about assigning the crucial role of cabinet secretary to Chris Wormald.
• He appointed a former official his chief of staff, then replaced her with Morgan McSweeney.
• He recruited Darren Jones in from the finance ministry as his chief secretary.
• His media advisors have been frequently replaced.
• Political and policy advisers have entered and exited.
• It is a mess.

Structural Challenges at the Core of Government

Every prime minister spend too much time abroad and on international matters, areas where Sir Keir ought to assign more tasks, and insufficient time conversing with MPs and hearing the public. Premiers also spend too much time engaging with the press, which Sir Keir compounds by performing inadequately. But premiers cannot claim to be surprised when their politically appointed staff, 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 systemic. It would be good to believe that Sir Keir reviewed the Institute for Government’s spring 2024 report on reforming the government's central operations. His failure to address these matters in the summer or since suggests he did not. The frequently dismal experience of the Labour administration indicates recommendations like restructuring the roles of the Cabinet Office and Downing Street, and dividing the jobs of cabinet secretary and civil service head, are now urgent.

The dominant political role of prime ministers greatly exceeds the support available to them. As a result, all aspects suffer, and many tasks are poorly executed or neglected.

This isn't Sir Keir’s fault alone. He stands as the victim of past failures as well as the author of present ones. But those who hoped Sir Keir might get a grip on the core and prioritize governmental structures have been let down. Sadly, the biggest loser from this shortcoming is Sir Keir personally.