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Sir Keir Starmer visited north Wales this past Thursday to reveal the construction of a fresh nuclear energy facility. This represents a major policy announcement with both local and national implications. Yet, the prime minister did not dedicate much time in Wales to promoting answers for the UK's energy needs. Rather, he spent it trying 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 goals 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 desires his administration to be performing, and to be seen to be doing, significant actions. Conversely, he is unable to achieve this due to the way he – and, partly, the country as a whole – now practices political and governmental affairs.

The Prime Minister cannot transform 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 government's core far better than he does. If he did this, he could discover that the nation was in less dismay about his administration than it currently is, and that he was communicating his points more effectively.

Staffing Issues in No 10

Some of the problems in Number 10 relate to personnel. The interpersonal relations of every Downing Street operation are difficult to discern well from outside. But it seems obvious that Sir Keir does not make sound staffing decisions, or stick with them. Maybe he is overly occupied. Possibly he lacks genuine interest. But he needs to improve his performance, not do things slowly or incompletely.

• He hesitated about assigning the key job of cabinet secretary to a senior official.
• He appointed a former official his top aide, then replaced her with a political strategist.
• He brought Darren Jones in from the Treasury as his deputy.
• His communications chiefs have been frequently replaced.
• Advisors on politics and policy have entered and exited.
• It is a mess.

Structural Challenges at the Core of Government

Every prime minister spend too much time overseas and on foreign affairs, areas where Sir Keir ought to assign more tasks, and too little conversing with MPs and listening to the public. Prime ministers also allocate too much time engaging with the press, which Sir Keir compounds by doing it poorly. But premiers cannot claim to be surprised when their politically appointed staff, who tend to be party loyalists or ambitious in politics, overstep boundaries or become the focus, as Mr McSweeney has recently.

The biggest issues, however, are structural. It would be good to believe that Sir Keir read the Institute for Government’s spring 2024 report on overhauling the centre of government. His failure to address these matters in the summer or afterward implies he did not. The often abject experience of Labour’s time in office suggests recommendations like reorganizing the functions of the Cabinet Office and No 10, and dividing the positions of top official and head of the civil service, are now urgent.

The political pre-eminence of prime ministers far outdistances the assistance provided to them. As a result, everything currently suffers, and much is done badly or neglected.

This isn't Sir Keir’s fault alone. He stands as the victim of previous shortcomings along with the architect of current mistakes. But those who hoped Sir Keir might get a grip on the centre and prioritize governmental structures have been let down. Unfortunately, the primary casualty from this failure is Sir Keir himself.