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Sir Keir Starmer visited Wales' northern region this past Thursday to announce the building of a new nuclear power station. This represents a major policy announcement with implications at local and countrywide levels. Yet, the PM did not dedicate much time in Wales to advocating answers for the UK's power requirements. Instead, he spent it attempting to put an end to the Labour leadership briefing row, telling reporters that No 10 had not briefed against the health secretary’s ambitions in recent days.

Therefore, Sir Keir’s day served as a microcosm of what his premiership has evolved into more generally. On the one hand, he wants his administration to be doing, and to be perceived as performing, significant actions. On the other hand, he is incapable to achieve this because of the manner he – and, partly, the country as a whole – now conducts politics and government.

Sir Keir is unable to change the political culture single-handedly, but he can do something about his own role in it. The plain fact is that he could run the centre of government much more effectively than he does. Should he achieve this, he might find that the nation was in less dismay about his administration than it currently is, and that he was communicating his points more effectively.

Personnel Problems in No 10

A number of the problems in Downing Street relate to individuals. The interpersonal relations of any No 10 regime are hard to know well from outside. But it seems obvious that Sir Keir fails to make good personnel choices, or maintain them. Perhaps he is too busy. Possibly he lacks genuine interest. But he needs to improve his performance, not do things slowly or incompletely.

• He hesitated about assigning the key job of top civil servant to a senior official.
• He made a former official his top aide, then substituted her with a political strategist.
• He recruited a Treasury figure in from the finance ministry as his deputy.
• His media advisors have chopped and changed.
• Political and policy advisers have come and gone.
• The situation is chaotic.

Systemic Issues at the Heart of the Administration

Every prime minister spend too much time overseas and on international matters, where Sir Keir should delegate more, and too little conversing with MPs and listening to the citizens. Prime ministers also allocate too much time doing media, which Sir Keir compounds by doing it poorly. Yet leaders cannot claim to be surprised when their political appointees, who are often party loyalists or ambitious in politics, cross lines or become the story, as the chief of staff now has.

The biggest issues, however, are systemic. It would be good to think that Sir Keir read the Institute for Government’s March 2024 study on reforming the centre of government. His failure to address these matters in the summer or since suggests he did not. The frequently dismal experience of Labour’s time in office indicates recommendations like reorganizing the functions of the Cabinet Office and No 10, and separating the positions of top official and head of the civil service, are now urgent.

The dominant political role of prime ministers greatly exceeds the assistance provided to them. As a result, all aspects suffer, and many tasks are poorly executed or neglected.

This isn't Sir Keir’s sole responsibility. He stands as the casualty of past failures as well as the architect of present ones. But those who hoped Sir Keir would take control of the core and prioritize governmental structures have been let down. Unfortunately, the biggest loser from this failure is Sir Keir personally.