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Sir Keir Starmer visited north Wales this past Thursday to declare the building of a fresh nuclear energy facility. This represents a significant policy event with implications at local and countrywide levels. However, the prime minister did not dedicate extensive time in Wales to advocating solutions for the UK's energy needs. Rather, he used the time attempting to put an end to the Labour leadership briefing row, informing reporters that Downing Street had not briefed against the health secretary’s ambitions in recent days.

As such, Sir Keir’s day served as a microcosm of what his premiership has now become more generally. On the one hand, he wants his administration to be performing, and to be perceived as performing, significant actions. On the other hand, he is incapable to achieve this because of the way he – and, to an extent, the country more generally – now conducts political and governmental affairs.

Sir Keir is unable to change the political culture single-handedly, but he can take action about his personal involvement in it. The simple truth is that he could run the centre of government much more effectively than he does. If he did this, he could discover that the country was in less despair about his government than it currently is, and that he was getting his messages across more effectively.

Personnel Problems in No 10

Some of the problems in Downing Street are about personnel. The interpersonal relations of every Downing Street operation are hard to know accurately from the exterior. But it seems obvious that Sir Keir fails to make good personnel choices, or maintain them. Maybe he is overly occupied. Perhaps he is not really interested. However, he must to up his game, avoid slow progress or incompletely.

• He dithered about giving the crucial role of top civil servant to a senior official.
• He appointed a former official his top aide, then substituted her with Morgan McSweeney.
• He brought a Treasury figure in from the finance ministry as his deputy.
• His media advisors have been frequently replaced.
• Political and policy advisers have come and gone.
• The situation is chaotic.

Structural Challenges at the Heart of the Administration

All premiers devote excessive time abroad and on international matters, areas where Sir Keir ought to assign more tasks, and too little talking to parliamentarians and hearing the citizens. Prime ministers also allocate too much time doing media, which Sir Keir compounds by doing it poorly. But premiers cannot express surprise when their political appointees, who tend to be party activists or ambitious in politics, cross lines or become the story, as the chief of staff has recently.

The biggest issues, however, are systemic. It would be good to believe that Sir Keir read the a think tank's spring 2024 report on reforming the centre of government. His inability to grip these issues in the summer or afterward suggests he did not. The frequently dismal performance of Labour’s time in office indicates IfG proposals like restructuring the functions of the central government office and Downing Street, and separating the positions of cabinet secretary and civil service head, are now urgent.

The political pre-eminence of PMs greatly exceeds the support available to them. Consequently, everything currently suffers, and many tasks are poorly executed or neglected.

This isn't Sir Keir’s sole responsibility. He is the casualty of past failures along with the author of current mistakes. But those who hoped Sir Keir might get a grip on the core and prioritize governmental structures have been disappointed. Sadly, the primary casualty from this failure is Sir Keir personally.