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Prime Minister Starmer visited Wales' northern region on Thursday to declare the construction of a fresh nuclear energy facility. This is a significant policy event with both local and national implications. However, the prime minister did not devote much time in Wales to promoting answers for the UK's power requirements. Rather, he used the time trying to draw a line under the briefing controversy within Labour's leadership, informing reporters that No 10 had not briefed against the health secretary’s ambitions in recent days.

Therefore, Sir Keir’s day acted as a microcosm of what his prime ministership has evolved into overall. On the one hand, he wants his government to be doing, and to be seen to be doing, significant actions. On the other hand, he is unable to accomplish this due to the manner he – and, to an extent, the country as a whole – now conducts political and governmental affairs.

Sir Keir is unable to change the political culture on his own, but he can take action about his personal involvement in it. The plain fact is that he could run the government's core far better than he does. If he did this, he could discover that the country was in less dismay about his administration than it is, and that he was getting his messages across more effectively.

Personnel Problems in No 10

A number of the issues in Number 10 relate to individuals. The interpersonal relations of every Downing Street operation are difficult to discern accurately from the exterior. But it seems obvious that Sir Keir does not make good personnel choices, or maintain them. Maybe he is overly occupied. Perhaps he is not really interested. But he needs to improve his performance, not do things slowly or by halves.

• He hesitated about giving the key job of top civil servant to Chris Wormald.
• He made a former official his top aide, then replaced her with Morgan McSweeney.
• He recruited 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.
• It is a mess.

Structural Challenges at the Core of Government

All premiers spend too much time overseas and on international matters, areas where Sir Keir ought to assign more tasks, and too little conversing with parliamentarians and listening to the public. Premiers also allocate too much time engaging with the press, which Sir Keir compounds by doing it poorly. But premiers cannot express surprise when their politically appointed staff, who are often party loyalists or politically ambitious, overstep boundaries or become the story, as the chief of staff has recently.

The most significant problems, though, are structural. It would be beneficial to think that Sir Keir reviewed the Institute for Government’s spring 2024 study on reforming the government's central operations. His inability to address these matters in the summer or afterward implies he did not. The frequently dismal performance of Labour’s time in office suggests recommendations like reorganizing the functions of the central government office and No 10, and dividing the jobs of cabinet secretary and head of the civil service, are now urgent.

The political pre-eminence of PMs far outdistances the assistance provided to them. As a result, all aspects suffer, and much is done badly or ignored.

This isn't Sir Keir’s fault alone. He stands as the casualty of previous shortcomings along with the author of present ones. Yet individuals who expected Sir Keir would take control of the core and prioritize governmental structures have been disappointed. Sadly, the primary casualty from this shortcoming is Sir Keir himself.