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Prime Minister Starmer traveled to north Wales this past Thursday to announce the development of a fresh nuclear energy facility. This represents a significant policy event with both local and national implications. However, the prime minister did not dedicate much time in Wales to advocating answers for the UK's power requirements. Rather, he used the time attempting to put an end to the Labour leadership briefing row, informing journalists that No 10 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 now become overall. On the one hand, he wants his government to be doing, and to be seen to be doing, significant actions. On the other hand, he is unable to accomplish this because of the manner he – and, to an extent, the country as a whole – now practices politics and government.

The Prime Minister is unable to transform the political culture single-handedly, but he is able to do something about his own role in it. The plain fact is that he could manage the government's core far better than he does. Should he achieve this, he could discover that the country was in less dismay about his administration than it currently is, and that he was communicating his points more successfully.

Personnel Problems in No 10

Some of the problems in Number 10 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. Perhaps he is too busy. Perhaps he is not really interested. But he needs to up his game, not do things slowly or incompletely.

• He hesitated about assigning the key job of cabinet secretary to Chris Wormald.
• He appointed Sue Gray his chief of staff, then replaced her with a political strategist.
• He recruited a Treasury figure in from the finance ministry as his chief secretary.
• His communications chiefs have been frequently replaced.
• Advisors on politics and policy have come and gone.
• It is a mess.

Systemic Issues at the Core of the Administration

Every prime minister spend too much time abroad and on international matters, areas where Sir Keir ought to assign more tasks, and too little conversing with parliamentarians and listening to the citizens. Premiers also spend too much time doing media, which Sir Keir compounds by performing inadequately. Yet leaders 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 Mr McSweeney now has.

The biggest issues, though, are systemic. It would be good to think that Sir Keir read the a think tank's March 2024 report on overhauling the centre of government. His inability to grip these issues in the summer or since suggests he did not. The often abject performance of the Labour administration indicates recommendations like restructuring the roles of the Cabinet 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 greatly exceeds the support available to them. Consequently, everything currently suffers, and much is done badly or neglected.

This isn't Sir Keir’s fault alone. He is the casualty of past failures as well as the author of current mistakes. Yet individuals who expected Sir Keir would take control of the core and take the machinery of government seriously have been let down. Unfortunately, the primary casualty from this failure is Sir Keir himself.