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Sir Keir Starmer visited Wales' northern region on Thursday to announce the development of a new nuclear power station. This is a significant policy event with implications at local and countrywide levels. However, the PM did not dedicate much time in Wales to promoting solutions for the UK's energy needs. Rather, he used the time attempting to put an end to the briefing controversy within Labour's leadership, informing journalists that Downing Street had not undermined the health secretary’s ambitions in recent days.

Therefore, Sir Keir’s day acted as a small-scale example of what his prime ministership has now become overall. Firstly, he wants his government to be doing, and to be perceived as performing, significant actions. Conversely, he is incapable to achieve this because of the way he – and, partly, the country more generally – now conducts politics and government.

Sir Keir cannot change the political culture on his own, but he is able to take action about his personal involvement in it. The simple truth is that he could manage the centre of government much more effectively than he does. Should he achieve this, he might find that the nation was in less despair about his administration than it is, and that he was getting his messages across more effectively.

Personnel Problems in Downing Street

Some of the issues in Downing Street relate to individuals. The interpersonal relations of any No 10 regime 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. Perhaps he is too busy. Possibly he lacks genuine interest. However, he must to improve his performance, avoid slow progress or incompletely.

• He hesitated about giving the crucial role of top civil servant to Chris Wormald.
• He made a former official his chief of staff, then substituted her with Morgan McSweeney.
• He recruited Darren Jones in from the Treasury as his deputy.
• His media advisors have chopped and changed.
• Political and policy advisers have entered and exited.
• It is a mess.

Systemic Issues at the Heart of Government

Every prime minister spend too much time abroad and on international matters, areas where Sir Keir ought to assign more tasks, and insufficient time talking to parliamentarians and hearing the public. Prime ministers also allocate too much time doing media, which Sir Keir worsens by performing inadequately. But premiers cannot claim to be surprised when their political appointees, who tend to be party loyalists or politically ambitious, overstep boundaries or become the story, as the chief of staff now has.

The biggest issues, however, are systemic. It would be good to believe that Sir Keir reviewed the a think tank's spring 2024 report on reforming the centre of government. His failure to grip these issues last July or since suggests he did not. The often abject experience of the Labour administration suggests IfG proposals like restructuring the functions of the central government office and No 10, and dividing the positions of cabinet secretary and head of the civil service, are currently critical.

The political pre-eminence of PMs far outdistances the assistance provided to them. Consequently, everything currently suffers, and much is done badly or neglected.

This isn't Sir Keir’s sole responsibility. He stands as the casualty of previous shortcomings as well as the author of present ones. 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 failure is Sir Keir personally.