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Sir Keir Starmer traveled to north Wales on Thursday to announce the construction of a new nuclear power station. This is a major policy announcement with implications at local and countrywide levels. Yet, the PM did not devote 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 journalists that Downing Street had not undermined the health secretary’s ambitions earlier this week.

As such, Sir Keir’s day acted as a small-scale example of what his premiership has evolved into more generally. Firstly, he wants his administration to be doing, and to be seen to be doing, significant actions. Conversely, he is unable to achieve this because of the way he – and, to an extent, the nation more generally – now conducts politics and government.

Sir Keir cannot transform the culture of politics on his own, but he is able to do something about his personal involvement in it. The simple truth is that he could manage the government's core far better than he currently does. Should he achieve this, he might find that the country was in less despair about his administration than it is, and that he was getting his messages across more successfully.

Staffing Issues in No 10

A number of the issues in Downing Street relate to personnel. The personal dynamics of every Downing Street operation are hard to know well from outside. But it seems obvious that Sir Keir does not make good personnel choices, or stick with them. Perhaps he is too busy. Perhaps he is not really interested. However, he must to up his game, not do things slowly or by halves.

• He hesitated about giving the key job of top civil servant to Chris Wormald.
• He appointed Sue Gray his chief of staff, then substituted her with a political strategist.
• He recruited a Treasury figure in from the Treasury as his chief secretary.
• His media advisors have chopped and changed.
• Political and policy advisers have come and gone.
• The situation is chaotic.

Structural Challenges at the Heart of the Administration

Every prime minister spend too much time abroad and on foreign affairs, where Sir Keir should delegate more, and too little talking to MPs and hearing the citizens. Prime ministers also spend too much time doing media, which Sir Keir compounds by doing it poorly. But premiers cannot express surprise when their politically appointed staff, who tend to be party activists or ambitious in politics, cross lines or become the story, as the chief of staff now has.

The most significant problems, though, are structural. It would be beneficial to believe that Sir Keir reviewed the a think tank's spring 2024 report on overhauling the government's central operations. His failure to grip these issues in the summer or since implies he did not. The frequently dismal experience of Labour’s time in office suggests recommendations like reorganizing the functions of the central government office and Downing Street, and dividing the positions of top official and civil service head, are now urgent.

The political pre-eminence of prime ministers far outdistances the assistance provided to them. As a result, everything currently suffers, and many tasks are poorly executed or neglected.

This isn't Sir Keir’s sole responsibility. He is the casualty of past failures along with the author of present ones. Yet individuals who expected Sir Keir might get a grip on the core and prioritize governmental structures have been disappointed. Sadly, the biggest loser from this shortcoming is Sir Keir personally.