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Prime Minister Starmer visited north Wales on Thursday to declare the development of a new nuclear power station. This represents a significant policy event with both local and national implications. Yet, the prime minister did not dedicate extensive time in Wales to advocating answers for the UK's energy needs. Instead, he spent it attempting to put an end to the briefing controversy within Labour's leadership, informing reporters that No 10 had not undermined the health secretary's goals in recent days.

Therefore, Sir Keir’s day acted as a small-scale example of what his prime ministership has evolved into 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 accomplish this due to the way he – and, partly, the country more generally – now conducts politics and government.

The Prime Minister is unable to change the culture of politics single-handedly, but he is able to take action about his own role in it. The plain fact is that he could run the government's core much more effectively than he does. If he did this, he could discover that the nation was in less despair about his administration than it is, and that he was communicating his points more effectively.

Staffing Issues in No 10

A number of the issues in Number 10 are about individuals. The personal dynamics of any No 10 regime are difficult to discern well from outside. But it seems obvious that Sir Keir does not make good personnel choices, or stick with them. Maybe he is overly occupied. 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 a former official his top aide, then substituted her with Morgan McSweeney.
• He recruited Darren Jones in from the Treasury as his deputy.
• His media advisors have been frequently replaced.
• Political and policy advisers have entered and exited.
• It is a mess.

Structural Challenges at the Heart of the Administration

Every prime minister devote excessive time abroad and on foreign affairs, where Sir Keir should delegate more, and insufficient time conversing with MPs and listening to the public. Prime ministers also allocate 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 loyalists or ambitious in politics, overstep boundaries or become the story, as Mr McSweeney has recently.

The biggest issues, though, are structural. It would be beneficial to think that Sir Keir reviewed the Institute for Government’s March 2024 report on reforming the government's central operations. His failure to address these matters last July or afterward implies he did not. The frequently dismal performance of the Labour administration indicates recommendations like restructuring the roles of the central government office and No 10, and dividing the positions of top official and civil service head, are now urgent.

The political pre-eminence of prime ministers greatly exceeds the support available to them. As a result, all aspects suffer, and much is done badly or ignored.

This isn't Sir Keir’s sole responsibility. He stands as the casualty of past failures along with the architect of current mistakes. But those who hoped Sir Keir might get a grip on the centre and take the machinery of government seriously have been disappointed. Sadly, the biggest loser from this shortcoming is Sir Keir himself.