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Prime Minister Starmer visited Wales' northern region on Thursday to reveal the building of a new nuclear power station. This represents a significant policy event with both local and national implications. Yet, the PM did not dedicate extensive time in Wales to promoting solutions for the UK's energy needs. Instead, he spent it trying to put an end to the Labour leadership briefing row, informing reporters that No 10 had not briefed against the health secretary's goals in recent days.

Therefore, Sir Keir’s day acted as a microcosm of what his premiership has evolved into more generally. On the one hand, he wants his administration to be doing, and to be seen to be doing, important things. Conversely, he is incapable to accomplish this because of the manner he – and, partly, the nation more generally – now conducts political and governmental affairs.

The Prime Minister is unable to transform the political culture on his own, but he can do something about his personal involvement in it. The simple truth is that he could manage the government's core much more effectively than he currently does. Should he achieve 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 Number 10 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 does not make sound staffing decisions, or stick with them. Perhaps he is too busy. Perhaps he is not really interested. However, he must to improve his performance, not do things slowly or by halves.

• He dithered about giving the crucial role of top civil servant to Chris Wormald.
• He made Sue Gray his top aide, then replaced her with Morgan McSweeney.
• He brought Darren Jones in from the Treasury as his deputy.
• His communications chiefs have been frequently replaced.
• Political and policy advisers have entered and exited.
• It is a mess.

Structural Challenges at the Core of Government

Every prime minister devote excessive time abroad and on foreign affairs, areas where Sir Keir ought to assign more tasks, and too little talking to MPs and listening to the citizens. Prime ministers also spend too much time engaging with the press, which Sir Keir compounds by performing inadequately. But premiers cannot express surprise when their politically appointed staff, who tend to be party activists or ambitious in politics, overstep boundaries or become the focus, as the chief of staff has recently.

The most significant problems, though, are structural. It would be good to believe that Sir Keir read the a think tank's March 2024 report on overhauling the government's central operations. His inability to address these matters in the summer or afterward suggests he did not. The frequently dismal experience of Labour’s time in office indicates IfG proposals like reorganizing the functions of the central government office and No 10, and dividing the jobs of top official and head of the civil service, are currently critical.

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

This isn't Sir Keir’s fault alone. He stands as the casualty of past failures as well as the author of present ones. But those who hoped Sir Keir might get a grip on the centre and take the machinery of government seriously have been disappointed. Unfortunately, the biggest loser from this failure is Sir Keir personally.