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Sir Keir Starmer traveled to north Wales on Thursday to announce the construction of a new nuclear power station. This represents a major policy announcement with both local and national implications. However, the prime minister did not dedicate extensive time in Wales to advocating answers for the UK's power requirements. Rather, he used the time attempting to draw a line under the briefing controversy within Labour's leadership, informing journalists that Downing Street had not undermined the health secretary's goals earlier this week.

Therefore, Sir Keir’s day served as a small-scale example of what his premiership has evolved into more generally. Firstly, he wants his government to be performing, and to be seen to be doing, important things. Conversely, he is unable to achieve this because of the manner he – and, to an extent, the nation more generally – now conducts political and governmental affairs.

Sir Keir is unable to change the culture of politics single-handedly, 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. If he did this, he could discover that the nation was in less dismay about his administration than it currently is, and that he was getting his messages across more effectively.

Staffing Issues in No 10

Some of the problems in Downing Street are about individuals. The interpersonal relations of every Downing Street operation are hard to know well from outside. But it seems obvious that Sir Keir fails to make sound staffing decisions, or maintain them. Perhaps he is too busy. Perhaps he is not really interested. But he needs to improve his performance, not do things slowly or by halves.

• He hesitated about giving the key job of cabinet secretary to a senior official.
• He appointed a former official his chief of staff, then replaced her with Morgan McSweeney.
• He recruited Darren Jones in from the Treasury as his chief secretary.
• His communications chiefs have chopped and changed.
• Political and policy advisers have come and gone.
• It is a mess.

Systemic Issues at the Heart of the Administration

Every prime minister spend too much time abroad and on international matters, where Sir Keir should delegate more, and too little conversing with parliamentarians and listening to the public. Premiers also allocate too much time engaging with the press, which Sir Keir worsens by doing it poorly. Yet leaders cannot express surprise when their political appointees, who are often party loyalists or ambitious in politics, cross lines or become the story, as Mr McSweeney has recently.

The most significant problems, though, are systemic. It would be good to think that Sir Keir reviewed the Institute for Government’s spring 2024 study on reforming the government's central operations. His failure to address these matters last July or since implies he did not. The often abject performance of Labour’s time in office indicates IfG proposals like restructuring the functions of the Cabinet Office and Downing Street, and separating the positions of top official and head of the civil service, are now urgent.

The dominant political role of PMs greatly exceeds the support available to them. As a result, all aspects suffer, and many tasks are poorly executed or ignored.

This is not Sir Keir’s fault alone. He stands as the victim of previous shortcomings along with the architect of present ones. Yet individuals who expected Sir Keir would take control of the centre and take the machinery of government seriously have been let down. Unfortunately, the biggest loser from this shortcoming is Sir Keir personally.