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Sir Keir Starmer visited north Wales on Thursday to announce the development of a new nuclear power station. 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 power requirements. Instead, he spent it attempting to draw a line under the Labour leadership briefing row, telling reporters that Downing Street had not undermined the health secretary’s ambitions in recent days.

Therefore, Sir Keir’s day served as a microcosm of what his premiership has now become more generally. Firstly, he wants his government to be performing, and to be perceived as performing, significant actions. On the other hand, he is unable to achieve this due to the way he – and, to an extent, the country more generally – now conducts political and governmental affairs.

Sir Keir cannot change the political culture on his own, but he can do something about his own role in it. The simple truth is that he could run the government's core much more effectively than he currently does. Should he achieve this, he could discover 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 No 10

Some of the issues in Downing Street 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 maintain them. Maybe he is overly occupied. Possibly he lacks genuine interest. But he needs to up his game, not do things slowly or incompletely.

• He dithered about giving the crucial role of top civil servant to Chris Wormald.
• He appointed a former official his top aide, then substituted her with Morgan McSweeney.
• He brought a Treasury figure in from the Treasury as his chief secretary.
• His media advisors have chopped and changed.
• Political and policy advisers have entered and exited.
• The situation is chaotic.

Structural Challenges at the Core of the Administration

All premiers devote excessive time overseas and on foreign affairs, where Sir Keir should delegate more, and insufficient time talking to MPs and listening to the public. Premiers also spend too much time doing media, which Sir Keir worsens by performing inadequately. Yet leaders cannot express surprise when their politically appointed staff, who are often party loyalists or politically ambitious, cross lines or become the focus, as the chief of staff now has.

The most significant problems, however, are structural. It would be beneficial to believe that Sir Keir reviewed the a think tank'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 frequently dismal performance of the Labour administration suggests recommendations like restructuring the roles of the central government office and Downing Street, and dividing the positions of top official and head of the civil service, are now urgent.

The dominant political role of prime ministers far outdistances the support available to them. Consequently, everything currently suffers, and many tasks are poorly executed or neglected.

This is not Sir Keir’s fault alone. He stands as the casualty of previous shortcomings as well as the author of current mistakes. But those who hoped Sir Keir might get a grip on the core and prioritize governmental structures have been disappointed. Unfortunately, the primary casualty from this shortcoming is Sir Keir himself.