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Sir Keir Starmer traveled to north Wales this past Thursday to announce the development of a fresh nuclear energy facility. This is a major policy announcement with implications at local and countrywide levels. Yet, the PM did not devote much time in Wales to promoting answers for the UK's power requirements. Instead, he spent it attempting to draw a line under the Labour leadership briefing row, telling journalists that No 10 had not undermined the health secretary’s ambitions earlier this week.

Therefore, Sir Keir’s day served as a microcosm of what his prime ministership has now become more generally. Firstly, he wants his administration to be doing, and to be seen to be doing, important things. Conversely, he is incapable to achieve this due to the way he – and, partly, the country more generally – now practices political and governmental affairs.

Sir Keir cannot transform the culture of politics on his own, but he can do something about his own role in it. The plain fact is that he could manage the centre of government much more effectively than he currently does. Should he achieve 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 Downing Street relate to individuals. The personal dynamics of every Downing Street operation are hard to know accurately from the exterior. Yet it appears clear that Sir Keir does not make sound staffing decisions, or maintain them. Perhaps he is too busy. Perhaps he is not really interested. But he needs to improve his performance, not do things slowly or by halves.

• He dithered about giving the crucial role of top civil servant to a senior official.
• He appointed Sue Gray his top aide, then replaced her with a political strategist.
• He recruited a Treasury figure in from the finance ministry as his chief secretary.
• His media advisors have been frequently replaced.
• Political and policy advisers have entered and exited.
• The situation is chaotic.

Systemic Issues at the Core of the Administration

All premiers devote excessive time abroad and on foreign affairs, areas where Sir Keir ought to assign more tasks, and too little talking to parliamentarians and hearing the citizens. Premiers also allocate too much time engaging with the press, which Sir Keir compounds by doing it poorly. Yet leaders cannot claim to be surprised when their politically appointed staff, who are often party activists or ambitious in politics, overstep boundaries or become the story, as the chief of staff has recently.

The biggest issues, however, are structural. It would be beneficial to believe that Sir Keir reviewed the a think tank's spring 2024 study on overhauling the government's central operations. His inability to grip these issues in the summer or afterward suggests he did not. The frequently dismal performance of the Labour administration indicates IfG proposals like restructuring the functions of the central government office and No 10, and separating the positions of top official and head of the civil service, are now urgent.

The dominant political role of PMs greatly exceeds the assistance provided to them. Consequently, everything currently suffers, and much is done badly or ignored.

This isn't Sir Keir’s fault alone. He stands as the casualty of past failures along with the architect of current mistakes. But those who hoped Sir Keir would take control of the centre and take the machinery of government seriously have been let down. Sadly, the biggest loser from this failure is Sir Keir himself.