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Prime Minister Starmer traveled to Wales' northern region this past Thursday to declare the construction of a fresh nuclear energy facility. This is a major policy announcement with both local and national implications. However, the PM did not dedicate much time in Wales to advocating answers for the UK's energy needs. Instead, he spent it trying to put an end to the Labour leadership briefing row, telling journalists that Downing Street had not briefed against the health secretary’s ambitions earlier this week.

Therefore, Sir Keir’s day acted as a microcosm of what his premiership has now become more generally. Firstly, he desires his government to be performing, and to be seen to be doing, significant actions. On the other hand, he is incapable to accomplish this because of the way he – and, partly, the country as a whole – now conducts political and governmental affairs.

The Prime Minister is unable to change the political culture single-handedly, but he can do something about his personal involvement in it. The simple truth is that he could run the centre of government far better than he does. Should he achieve this, he might find that the nation was in less dismay about his administration than it is, and that he was communicating his points more effectively.

Staffing Issues in No 10

A number of the problems in Number 10 are about individuals. The personal dynamics of every Downing Street operation are hard to know well from outside. 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 up his game, not do things slowly or incompletely.

• He hesitated about assigning the key job of top civil servant to a senior official.
• He made a former official his chief of staff, then substituted her with a political strategist.
• He recruited Darren Jones in from the Treasury as his chief secretary.
• His media advisors have been frequently replaced.
• Advisors on politics and policy have come and gone.
• It is a mess.

Structural Challenges at the Heart of the Administration

All premiers spend too much time overseas and on international matters, areas where Sir Keir ought to assign more tasks, and insufficient time conversing with parliamentarians and hearing the public. Prime ministers also allocate too much time doing media, which Sir Keir compounds by doing it poorly. Yet leaders cannot express surprise 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 most significant problems, however, are structural. It would be beneficial to think that Sir Keir read the Institute for Government’s March 2024 report on overhauling the government's central operations. His inability to address these matters in the summer or since implies he did not. The often abject performance of the Labour administration indicates IfG proposals like reorganizing the functions of the central government office and No 10, and dividing the jobs of cabinet secretary and civil service head, are currently critical.

The political pre-eminence of prime ministers greatly exceeds the support available to them. As a result, everything currently suffers, and many tasks are poorly executed or ignored.

This is not Sir Keir’s sole responsibility. He stands as the victim of past failures as well as the author of present ones. Yet individuals who expected Sir Keir would take control of the core and prioritize governmental structures have been let down. Unfortunately, the biggest loser from this shortcoming is Sir Keir himself.