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Prime Minister Starmer traveled to Wales' northern region this past Thursday to declare the building of a fresh nuclear energy facility. This represents a significant policy event with both local and national implications. Yet, the PM did not devote much time in Wales to promoting solutions for the UK's power requirements. Instead, he used the time attempting to put an end to the Labour leadership briefing row, telling journalists that Downing Street had not undermined the health secretary's goals in recent days.

Therefore, Sir Keir’s day served as a small-scale example of what his prime ministership has evolved into overall. On the one hand, he desires his administration to be performing, 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 transform the political culture on his own, but he can do something about his own role in it. The simple truth is that he could manage the government's core much more effectively than he currently does. If he did this, he might find that the country was in less despair about his administration than it is, and that he was getting his messages across more successfully.

Staffing Issues in Downing Street

A number of the issues in Downing Street are about personnel. The personal dynamics of any No 10 regime are hard to know well from outside. Yet it appears clear that Sir Keir fails to make sound staffing decisions, 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 assigning the key job of top civil servant to a senior official.
• He made Sue Gray his chief of staff, then replaced her with a political strategist.
• He brought a Treasury figure in from the finance ministry as his chief secretary.
• His communications chiefs have chopped and changed.
• Political and policy advisers have entered and exited.
• It is a mess.

Structural Challenges at the Core of Government

All premiers devote excessive time overseas and on foreign affairs, areas where Sir Keir ought to assign more tasks, and too little conversing with parliamentarians and hearing the public. Premiers also spend too much time engaging with the press, which Sir Keir worsens by doing it poorly. But premiers cannot express surprise when their politically appointed staff, who are often party loyalists or ambitious in politics, cross lines or become the story, as the chief of staff now has.

The biggest issues, however, are structural. It would be good to believe that Sir Keir reviewed the a think tank's March 2024 report on overhauling the government's central operations. His failure to address these matters in the summer or afterward suggests he did not. The often abject performance of Labour’s time in office indicates recommendations like restructuring the functions of the central government office and Downing Street, and dividing the positions 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. Consequently, all aspects suffer, and much is done badly or neglected.

This is not Sir Keir’s sole responsibility. He stands as the victim of previous shortcomings along with the architect of current mistakes. Yet individuals who expected Sir Keir might get a grip on the centre and prioritize governmental structures have been let down. Unfortunately, the biggest loser from this failure is Sir Keir personally.