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Sir Keir Starmer traveled to Wales' northern region on Thursday to reveal the building of a fresh nuclear energy facility. This is a significant policy event with both local and national implications. However, the PM did not dedicate extensive time in Wales to promoting solutions for the UK's power requirements. Instead, he used the time attempting to draw a line under the briefing controversy within Labour's leadership, informing reporters that No 10 had not undermined the health secretary’s ambitions in recent days.

As such, Sir Keir’s day acted as a microcosm of what his prime ministership has now become more generally. Firstly, he wants his government to be performing, and to be perceived as performing, significant actions. Conversely, he is incapable to achieve this because of the way he – and, partly, the country as a whole – now conducts politics and government.

The Prime Minister is unable to transform the culture of politics on his own, but he can do something about his personal involvement in it. The plain fact is that he could manage the government's core much more effectively than he currently does. Should he achieve this, he might find that the country was in less despair about his government than it currently is, and that he was getting his messages across more effectively.

Staffing Issues in Downing Street

Some of the issues in Downing Street relate to individuals. The personal dynamics of any No 10 regime are difficult to discern 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. Possibly he lacks genuine interest. However, he must to improve his performance, avoid slow progress or incompletely.

• He dithered about assigning the key job of cabinet secretary to a senior official.
• He made Sue Gray his top aide, then replaced her with a political strategist.
• He recruited Darren Jones in from the Treasury as his chief secretary.
• His communications chiefs have been frequently replaced.
• Advisors on politics and policy have entered and exited.
• It is a mess.

Structural Challenges at the Core of Government

Every prime minister devote excessive time abroad and on international matters, areas where Sir Keir ought to assign more tasks, and too little conversing with MPs and listening to the public. Prime ministers also spend 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 tend to be party activists or ambitious in politics, overstep boundaries or become the story, as Mr McSweeney now has.

The biggest issues, though, are structural. It would be beneficial to believe that Sir Keir reviewed the Institute for Government’s March 2024 study on overhauling the centre of government. His failure to address these matters last July or afterward suggests he did not. The frequently dismal performance of the Labour administration suggests IfG proposals 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 currently critical.

The political pre-eminence of PMs greatly exceeds the assistance provided to them. Consequently, everything currently suffers, and many tasks are poorly executed or neglected.

This is not Sir Keir’s fault alone. He stands as the victim of past failures as well as the architect of current mistakes. Yet individuals who expected Sir Keir would take control of the core and prioritize governmental structures have been disappointed. Unfortunately, the biggest loser from this shortcoming is Sir Keir himself.