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Sir Keir Starmer visited north Wales this past Thursday to announce the construction of a fresh nuclear energy facility. This is a major policy announcement with both local and national implications. However, the PM did not devote much time in Wales to promoting answers for the UK's power requirements. Rather, he used the time attempting to draw a line under the briefing controversy within Labour's leadership, informing journalists that No 10 had not briefed against the health secretary's goals earlier this week.

Therefore, Sir Keir’s day acted as a small-scale example of what his prime ministership has now become overall. On the one hand, he wants his government to be performing, and to be perceived as performing, important things. Conversely, he is incapable to achieve this due to the way he – and, to an extent, the country as a whole – now conducts political and governmental affairs.

The Prime Minister is unable to change the political culture single-handedly, but he is able to do something about his personal involvement in it. The simple truth is that he could run the centre of government much more effectively than he does. If he did this, he might find that the nation was in less despair about his government than it currently is, and that he was getting his messages across more effectively.

Personnel Problems in No 10

Some of the problems in Number 10 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 giving the key job of top civil servant to Chris Wormald.
• He appointed a former official his chief of staff, then replaced her with Morgan McSweeney.
• He brought Darren Jones in from the Treasury as his deputy.
• His communications chiefs have been frequently replaced.
• Advisors on politics and policy have entered and exited.
• The situation is chaotic.

Structural Challenges at the Core of the Administration

All premiers devote excessive time abroad and on foreign affairs, where Sir Keir should delegate more, and too little talking to parliamentarians and hearing the citizens. Premiers also spend too much time doing media, which Sir Keir compounds by performing inadequately. But premiers cannot claim to be surprised when their politically appointed staff, who tend to be party activists or politically ambitious, overstep boundaries or become the story, as the chief of staff now has.

The biggest issues, though, are structural. It would be good to think that Sir Keir read the Institute for Government’s spring 2024 study on overhauling the government's central operations. His failure to grip these issues last July or since implies he did not. The frequently dismal performance of Labour’s time in office suggests IfG proposals like reorganizing the roles of the central government office and No 10, and separating the jobs of top official and head of the civil service, are currently critical.

The dominant political role of PMs greatly exceeds the assistance provided to them. Consequently, everything currently suffers, and much is done badly or ignored.

This is not Sir Keir’s sole responsibility. He is the victim of previous shortcomings along with the architect of current mistakes. But those who hoped Sir Keir would take control of the core and take the machinery of government seriously have been let down. Sadly, the biggest loser from this shortcoming is Sir Keir himself.