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Sir Keir Starmer traveled to Wales' northern region this past Thursday to reveal the construction of a fresh nuclear energy facility. This represents a significant policy event with both local and national implications. Yet, the PM did not dedicate extensive time in Wales to promoting solutions for the UK's energy needs. Instead, he spent it attempting to put an end to the Labour leadership briefing row, telling reporters that Downing Street had not briefed against the health secretary's goals in recent days.

Therefore, Sir Keir’s day served as a microcosm of what his prime ministership has now become overall. Firstly, he desires his government to be doing, and to be perceived as performing, significant actions. Conversely, he is incapable to achieve this because of the manner he – and, partly, the nation more generally – now practices politics and government.

Sir Keir is unable to change the culture of politics on his own, but he is able to 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. Should he achieve this, he might find that the nation was in less despair about his administration than it currently is, and that he was communicating his points more successfully.

Staffing Issues in Downing Street

Some of the issues in Number 10 relate to personnel. The interpersonal relations of every Downing Street operation are difficult to discern accurately from the exterior. Yet it appears clear 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 key job of cabinet secretary to Chris Wormald.
• He appointed a former official his chief of staff, then replaced her with a political strategist.
• He brought a Treasury figure in from the Treasury as his chief secretary.
• His media advisors have chopped and changed.
• Advisors on politics and policy have entered and exited.
• The situation is chaotic.

Systemic Issues at the Core of the Administration

Every prime minister spend too much time overseas and on international matters, where Sir Keir should delegate more, and insufficient time talking to parliamentarians and listening to the public. Prime ministers also spend too much time engaging with the press, which Sir Keir compounds by performing inadequately. Yet leaders cannot claim to be surprised when their politically appointed staff, who tend to be party activists or ambitious in politics, overstep boundaries or become the focus, as the chief of staff has recently.

The biggest issues, though, are systemic. It would be beneficial to believe that Sir Keir reviewed the a think tank's spring 2024 report on reforming the centre of government. His failure to grip these issues in the summer or since implies he did not. The often abject experience of Labour’s time in office indicates recommendations like restructuring the functions of the central government office and No 10, and separating the jobs of cabinet secretary and head of the civil service, are now urgent.

The political pre-eminence of PMs far outdistances the support available to them. As a result, everything currently suffers, and many tasks are poorly executed or neglected.

This isn't Sir Keir’s sole responsibility. He stands as the casualty of previous shortcomings as well as the author of present ones. Yet individuals who expected Sir Keir would take control of the centre and take the machinery of government seriously have been disappointed. Unfortunately, the primary casualty from this shortcoming is Sir Keir himself.