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Prime Minister Starmer traveled to Wales' northern region this past Thursday to declare the development of a new nuclear power station. This represents a significant policy event with both local and national implications. However, the PM did not devote extensive time in Wales to advocating answers for the UK's power requirements. Rather, he used the time attempting to put an end to the briefing controversy within Labour's leadership, informing journalists that No 10 had not briefed against the health secretary’s ambitions earlier this week.

As such, Sir Keir’s day acted as a small-scale example of what his premiership has evolved into more generally. On the one hand, he wants his government to be performing, and to be perceived as performing, important things. Conversely, he is incapable to accomplish this because of the way he – and, partly, the nation more generally – now practices politics and government.

The Prime Minister is unable to transform the political culture single-handedly, but he is able to take action about his personal involvement in it. The plain fact is that he could manage 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 is, and that he was communicating his points more successfully.

Personnel Problems in Downing Street

Some of the issues in Number 10 are about personnel. The interpersonal relations of any No 10 regime are hard to know well from outside. But it seems obvious that Sir Keir does not make good personnel choices, or stick with them. Perhaps he is too busy. Perhaps he is not really interested. But he needs to up his game, avoid slow progress or by halves.

• He dithered about giving the crucial role of top civil servant to a senior official.
• He made a former official his chief of staff, then replaced her with a political strategist.
• He brought a Treasury figure in from the finance ministry as his deputy.
• His media advisors have chopped and changed.
• Advisors on politics and policy have come and gone.
• It is a mess.

Systemic Issues at the Heart of the Administration

All premiers devote excessive time overseas and on international matters, where Sir Keir should delegate more, 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 political appointees, who tend to be party activists or politically ambitious, overstep boundaries or become the story, as Mr McSweeney has recently.

The biggest issues, however, are structural. It would be beneficial to believe that Sir Keir reviewed the Institute for Government’s March 2024 study on reforming the government's central operations. His failure to grip these issues last July or since implies he did not. The frequently dismal performance of the Labour administration suggests recommendations like restructuring the roles of the Cabinet Office and Downing Street, and dividing the jobs of top official and head of the civil service, are currently critical.

The dominant political role of prime ministers greatly exceeds the support available to them. As a result, all aspects suffer, and much is done badly or ignored.

This is not Sir Keir’s fault alone. He stands as the casualty of past failures as well as the author of present ones. But those who hoped Sir Keir might get a grip on the centre and prioritize governmental structures have been let down. Sadly, the primary casualty from this failure is Sir Keir himself.