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Sir Keir Starmer traveled to north Wales this past Thursday to reveal the development of a new nuclear power station. This is a significant policy event with both local and national implications. However, the prime minister did not devote 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 Labour leadership briefing row, telling reporters that Downing Street had not undermined the health secretary’s ambitions earlier this week.

Therefore, Sir Keir’s day acted as a small-scale example of what his premiership has now become more generally. On the one hand, he wants his administration to be performing, and to be seen to be doing, significant actions. Conversely, he is unable to accomplish this due to the way he – and, partly, the country as a whole – now conducts political and governmental affairs.

The Prime Minister is unable to change the culture of politics on his own, but he is able to do something 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 government than it is, and that he was communicating his points more successfully.

Staffing Issues in No 10

A number of the issues in Number 10 relate to individuals. The personal dynamics of any No 10 regime are difficult to discern accurately from the exterior. Yet it appears clear that Sir Keir fails to 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, not do things slowly or incompletely.

• He hesitated about giving the key job of top civil servant to Chris Wormald.
• He appointed Sue Gray his chief of staff, then replaced her with Morgan McSweeney.
• He recruited a Treasury figure in from the finance ministry as his deputy.
• His communications chiefs have been frequently replaced.
• Political and policy advisers have entered and exited.
• It is a mess.

Systemic Issues at the Core of the Administration

All premiers devote excessive time abroad and on international matters, areas where Sir Keir ought to assign more tasks, and insufficient time conversing with parliamentarians and listening to the citizens. Prime ministers also spend too much time engaging with the press, which Sir Keir compounds by performing inadequately. Yet leaders cannot express surprise when their political appointees, who tend to be party loyalists or politically ambitious, overstep boundaries or become the focus, as the chief of staff has recently.

The biggest issues, however, are systemic. It would be beneficial to believe that Sir Keir read the Institute for Government’s March 2024 report on overhauling the government's central operations. His failure to address these matters last July or since suggests he did not. The frequently dismal performance of the Labour administration indicates IfG proposals like restructuring the roles of the Cabinet Office and No 10, and separating the positions of cabinet secretary and head of the civil service, are currently critical.

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

This isn't Sir Keir’s fault alone. He is the victim of past failures along with the architect of current mistakes. But those who hoped Sir Keir would take control of the core and take the machinery of government seriously have been let down. Unfortunately, the primary casualty from this failure is Sir Keir himself.