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Prime Minister Starmer traveled to Wales' northern region this past Thursday to reveal the building of a fresh nuclear energy facility. This is a significant policy event with implications at local and countrywide levels. Yet, the prime minister did not devote extensive time in Wales to advocating solutions for the UK's energy needs. Instead, he used the time trying to draw a line under the briefing controversy within Labour's leadership, telling reporters that Downing Street had not briefed against the health secretary's goals in recent days.

As such, Sir Keir’s day served as a microcosm of what his prime ministership has evolved into more generally. Firstly, he wants his government to be doing, and to be seen to be doing, important things. Conversely, he is unable to accomplish this due to the way he – and, partly, the nation more generally – now conducts politics and government.

The Prime Minister is unable to change the culture of politics on his own, but he can take action about his own role in it. The simple truth is that he could run the centre of government much more effectively than he does. Should he achieve this, he could discover that the nation was in less despair about his government than it currently is, and that he was getting his messages across more successfully.

Staffing Issues in Downing Street

Some of the issues in Downing Street relate to personnel. The interpersonal relations of any No 10 regime are difficult to discern well from outside. But it seems obvious that Sir Keir does not make sound staffing decisions, or maintain them. Perhaps he is too busy. Perhaps he is not really interested. However, he must to improve his performance, avoid slow progress or incompletely.

• He hesitated about giving the crucial role of top civil servant to a senior official.
• He appointed a former official his chief of staff, then replaced her with Morgan McSweeney.
• He recruited Darren Jones 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.

Structural Challenges at the Core of the Administration

All premiers devote excessive time abroad and on international matters, areas where Sir Keir ought to assign more tasks, and insufficient time talking to parliamentarians and hearing the public. 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 are often party loyalists or politically ambitious, overstep boundaries or become the focus, as Mr McSweeney now has.

The most significant problems, however, are structural. It would be beneficial to think that Sir Keir reviewed the a think tank's March 2024 report on overhauling the government's central operations. His inability to address these matters last July or afterward suggests he did not. The often abject experience of Labour’s time in office suggests IfG proposals like restructuring the functions of the Cabinet Office and Downing Street, and dividing the jobs of top official and head of the civil service, are currently critical.

The political pre-eminence of PMs greatly exceeds the assistance provided to them. Consequently, all aspects suffer, and much is done badly or ignored.

This isn't Sir Keir’s sole responsibility. He is the victim of past failures as well as the architect of present ones. But those who hoped Sir Keir would take control of the centre and prioritize governmental structures have been disappointed. Sadly, the biggest loser from this failure is Sir Keir himself.