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Prime Minister Starmer visited north Wales on Thursday to announce the construction of a fresh nuclear energy facility. This represents a significant policy event with implications at local and countrywide levels. Yet, the PM did not devote extensive time in Wales to promoting answers for the UK's energy needs. Rather, he used the time trying to draw a line under the Labour leadership briefing row, telling journalists that Downing Street had not undermined the health secretary’s ambitions in recent days.

As such, Sir Keir’s day acted as a microcosm of what his premiership has evolved into more generally. Firstly, he desires his government to be performing, and to be seen to be doing, important things. On the other hand, he is unable to achieve this due to the manner he – and, to an extent, the country more generally – now practices political and governmental affairs.

Sir Keir is unable to transform the political culture single-handedly, but he can take action about his personal involvement in it. The plain fact is that he could run the government's core much more effectively than he currently does. If he did this, he might find that the country was in less dismay about his government than it is, and that he was communicating his points more successfully.

Personnel Problems in Downing Street

Some of the problems in Number 10 are about personnel. The personal dynamics of any No 10 regime are difficult to discern well from outside. Yet it appears clear that Sir Keir fails to make good personnel choices, or maintain them. Maybe he is overly occupied. Possibly he lacks genuine interest. But he needs to improve his performance, avoid slow progress or incompletely.

• He hesitated about giving the crucial role of top civil servant to a senior official.
• He made Sue Gray his top aide, then replaced her with a political strategist.
• He recruited Darren Jones in from the finance ministry as his deputy.
• His media advisors have been frequently replaced.
• Political and policy advisers have come and gone.
• It is a mess.

Structural Challenges at the Core of Government

All premiers spend too much time overseas and on foreign affairs, areas where Sir Keir ought to assign more tasks, and insufficient time conversing with MPs and listening to the citizens. Prime ministers also spend too much time engaging with the press, which Sir Keir compounds by doing it poorly. Yet leaders cannot claim to be surprised when their politically appointed staff, who are often party activists or politically ambitious, overstep boundaries or become the story, as the chief of staff now has.

The biggest issues, though, are systemic. It would be good to believe that Sir Keir reviewed the Institute for Government’s March 2024 report on reforming the centre of government. His inability to grip these issues last July or since suggests he did not. The often abject experience of Labour’s time in office indicates recommendations like reorganizing the functions of the Cabinet Office and Downing Street, and dividing the positions of cabinet secretary and head of the civil service, are now urgent.

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

This is not Sir Keir’s sole responsibility. He stands as the casualty of past failures along with the architect of current mistakes. Yet individuals who expected Sir Keir might get a grip on the core and prioritize governmental structures have been let down. Unfortunately, the biggest loser from this failure is Sir Keir himself.