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Sir Keir Starmer traveled to north Wales this past Thursday to announce the development 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 advocating answers for the UK's power requirements. Rather, he spent it trying to draw a line under the Labour leadership briefing row, telling journalists that No 10 had not undermined the health secretary’s ambitions earlier this week.

Therefore, Sir Keir’s day acted as a microcosm of what his prime ministership has evolved into more generally. Firstly, he wants his administration to be doing, and to be seen to be doing, significant actions. On the other hand, he is incapable to achieve this due to the manner he – and, to an extent, the nation as a whole – now practices political and governmental affairs.

Sir Keir is unable to transform the political culture single-handedly, but he can 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 currently does. Should he achieve this, he could discover that the nation was in less dismay about his administration than it currently is, and that he was communicating his points more effectively.

Personnel Problems in No 10

A number of the problems in Number 10 are about individuals. The personal dynamics of any No 10 regime are hard to know accurately from the exterior. Yet it appears clear that Sir Keir does not make good personnel choices, or stick with them. Perhaps he is too busy. Possibly he lacks genuine interest. But he needs to improve his performance, avoid slow progress or incompletely.

• He dithered about assigning the crucial role of top civil servant to Chris Wormald.
• He made Sue Gray his chief of staff, then substituted her with a political strategist.
• He brought a Treasury figure in from the finance ministry as his deputy.
• His communications chiefs have chopped and changed.
• Political and policy advisers have entered and exited.
• It is a mess.

Systemic Issues at the Core of the Administration

All premiers spend too much time overseas and on foreign affairs, areas where Sir Keir ought to assign more tasks, and insufficient time conversing with parliamentarians and hearing the public. Prime ministers also spend too much time doing media, which Sir Keir compounds by doing it poorly. Yet leaders cannot express surprise when their political appointees, who tend to be party loyalists or politically ambitious, overstep boundaries or become the story, as the chief of staff has recently.

The biggest issues, however, are systemic. It would be good to believe that Sir Keir read the a think tank's March 2024 study on reforming the government's central operations. His inability to grip these issues last July or since suggests he did not. The often abject experience of the Labour administration suggests IfG proposals like restructuring the functions of the central government office and Downing Street, and separating the positions of cabinet secretary and civil service head, are now urgent.

The political pre-eminence of prime ministers far outdistances the support available to them. Consequently, all aspects suffer, and many tasks are poorly executed or neglected.

This isn't Sir Keir’s sole responsibility. He is the victim of previous shortcomings as well as the author of current mistakes. But those who hoped Sir Keir would take control of the core and prioritize governmental structures have been disappointed. Sadly, the primary casualty from this failure is Sir Keir himself.