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Sir Keir Starmer traveled to Wales' northern region this past Thursday to declare the development of a new nuclear power station. This is a major policy announcement with implications at local and countrywide levels. Yet, the prime minister did not dedicate much time in Wales to advocating solutions for the UK's energy needs. Rather, he spent it attempting to draw a line under the briefing controversy within Labour's leadership, informing reporters that Downing Street had not briefed against the health secretary's goals in recent days.

As such, Sir Keir’s day served as a small-scale example of what his premiership has evolved into more generally. Firstly, he wants his administration to be doing, and to be perceived as performing, important things. Conversely, he is incapable to accomplish this because of the way he – and, partly, the nation as a whole – now practices political and governmental affairs.

Sir Keir cannot transform the political culture on his own, but he is able to take action about his own role in it. The plain fact is that he could manage the centre of government far better than he currently does. If he did this, he might find that the country was in less dismay about his government than it currently is, and that he was getting his messages across more successfully.

Staffing Issues in No 10

A number of the issues in Number 10 relate to individuals. The interpersonal relations of every Downing Street operation are difficult to discern accurately from the exterior. But it seems obvious that Sir Keir fails to make good personnel choices, or stick with them. Maybe he is overly occupied. Perhaps he is not really interested. But he needs to improve his performance, not do things slowly or by halves.

• He hesitated about assigning the key job of top civil servant to a senior official.
• He appointed Sue Gray his top aide, then replaced her with a political strategist.
• He brought Darren Jones in from the finance ministry as his chief secretary.
• His media advisors have been frequently replaced.
• Political and policy advisers have come and gone.
• The situation is chaotic.

Systemic Issues at the Heart of Government

Every prime minister devote excessive time abroad and on foreign affairs, areas where Sir Keir ought to assign more tasks, and insufficient time conversing with MPs and listening to the public. Premiers also allocate too much time engaging with the press, which Sir Keir compounds by performing inadequately. But premiers cannot claim to be surprised when their politically appointed staff, who tend to be party activists or ambitious in politics, overstep boundaries or become the focus, as Mr McSweeney has recently.

The most significant problems, though, are systemic. It would be beneficial to think that Sir Keir reviewed the a think tank's spring 2024 study 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 experience of the Labour administration suggests IfG proposals like restructuring the functions of the Cabinet Office and Downing Street, and dividing the positions of top official and head of the civil service, are currently critical.

The dominant political role of PMs far outdistances the assistance provided to them. Consequently, everything currently suffers, and many tasks are poorly executed or ignored.

This isn't Sir Keir’s fault alone. He is the victim of previous shortcomings along with the author of present ones. Yet individuals who expected Sir Keir might get a grip on the centre and prioritize governmental structures have been let down. Sadly, the primary casualty from this shortcoming is Sir Keir personally.