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Prime Minister Starmer traveled to Wales' northern region on Thursday to reveal the construction of a new nuclear power station. This represents a major policy announcement with implications at local and countrywide levels. Yet, the prime minister did not devote extensive time in Wales to advocating solutions for the UK's power requirements. Rather, he used the time trying to put an end to the Labour leadership briefing row, telling journalists that Downing Street 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 overall. Firstly, he desires his government to be performing, and to be seen to be doing, important things. Conversely, he is incapable to achieve this because of the way he – and, partly, the nation as a whole – now practices political and governmental affairs.

Sir Keir cannot change the political culture on his own, but he is able to take action about his personal involvement in it. The plain fact is that he could manage the centre of government far better than he currently does. If he did this, he might find that the nation was in less despair about his government than it currently is, and that he was communicating his points more effectively.

Staffing Issues in Downing Street

Some of the issues in Number 10 relate to individuals. The interpersonal relations of every Downing Street operation are difficult to discern well from outside. 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 up his game, not do things slowly or incompletely.

• He dithered about assigning the key job of cabinet secretary to Chris Wormald.
• He made a former official his top aide, then substituted her with Morgan McSweeney.
• He brought Darren Jones in from the finance ministry as his deputy.
• His media advisors have chopped and changed.
• Political and policy advisers have entered and exited.
• The situation is chaotic.

Structural Challenges at the Core of Government

All premiers spend too much time overseas and on foreign affairs, areas where Sir Keir ought to assign more tasks, and insufficient time talking to parliamentarians and hearing the public. Prime ministers also allocate too much time engaging with the press, which Sir Keir compounds by performing inadequately. But premiers cannot claim to be surprised when their political appointees, who are often party activists or ambitious in politics, cross lines or become the story, as Mr McSweeney has recently.

The biggest issues, however, are structural. It would be beneficial to believe that Sir Keir read the Institute for Government’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 often abject performance of Labour’s time in office suggests IfG proposals like reorganizing the roles of the central government office and Downing Street, and separating the jobs of top official and civil service head, are now urgent.

The dominant political role of PMs far outdistances 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 as well as the author of present ones. But those who hoped Sir Keir would take control of the centre and prioritize governmental structures have been disappointed. Unfortunately, the primary casualty from this shortcoming is Sir Keir himself.