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Sir Keir Starmer traveled to north Wales this past Thursday to declare the development of a fresh nuclear energy facility. This is a major policy announcement with both local and national implications. However, the prime minister did not dedicate extensive time in Wales to advocating answers for the UK's power requirements. Rather, he spent it attempting to put an end to the briefing controversy within Labour's leadership, informing journalists that No 10 had not briefed against the health secretary's goals earlier this week.

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

Sir Keir cannot transform the culture of politics on his own, but he can do something about his own role 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 could discover that the nation was in less dismay about his administration than it currently is, and that he was getting his messages across more effectively.

Personnel Problems in No 10

Some of the issues in Downing Street are about personnel. The interpersonal relations of every Downing Street operation are difficult to discern accurately from the exterior. But it seems obvious that Sir Keir does not make good personnel choices, or maintain them. Maybe he is overly occupied. Perhaps he is not really interested. However, he must to improve his performance, not do things slowly or incompletely.

• He dithered about assigning the crucial role of top civil servant to a senior official.
• He appointed a former official his top aide, then substituted her with a political strategist.
• He recruited Darren Jones in from the Treasury as his deputy.
• His communications chiefs have chopped and changed.
• Political and policy advisers have entered and exited.
• The situation is chaotic.

Systemic Issues at the Heart of the Administration

All premiers devote excessive time overseas and on international matters, where Sir Keir should delegate more, and insufficient time conversing with MPs and hearing the public. Premiers also allocate too much time doing media, which Sir Keir compounds by doing it poorly. But premiers cannot claim to be surprised when their politically appointed staff, who are often party activists or ambitious in politics, overstep boundaries or become the focus, as Mr McSweeney has recently.

The biggest issues, however, are systemic. It would be beneficial to think that Sir Keir read the a think tank's spring 2024 report on overhauling the centre of government. His inability to grip these issues in the summer or afterward implies he did not. The frequently dismal performance of the Labour administration indicates recommendations like restructuring the roles of the Cabinet Office and No 10, and dividing the positions of top official and head of the civil service, are now urgent.

The political pre-eminence of prime ministers greatly exceeds the assistance provided to them. As a result, 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. 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 primary casualty from this failure is Sir Keir himself.