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Prime Minister Starmer visited Wales' northern region on Thursday to announce the building of a new nuclear power station. This is a major policy announcement with both local and national implications. However, the PM did not devote extensive time in Wales to advocating solutions for the UK's power requirements. Rather, he spent it attempting to draw a line under the Labour leadership briefing row, telling reporters that Downing Street had not undermined the health secretary’s ambitions earlier this week.

Therefore, Sir Keir’s day acted as a small-scale example of what his prime ministership has now become overall. Firstly, he desires his administration to be doing, and to be seen to be doing, significant actions. Conversely, he is incapable to accomplish this due to the manner he – and, partly, the nation as a whole – now conducts politics and government.

The Prime Minister cannot transform the culture of politics on his own, but he is able to take action about his personal involvement in it. The simple truth is that he could manage the government's core far better than he does. Should he achieve this, he might find that the nation was in less dismay about his government than it currently is, and that he was communicating his points more successfully.

Staffing Issues in No 10

Some of the issues in Downing Street relate to individuals. The interpersonal relations of every Downing Street operation are difficult to discern accurately from the exterior. Yet it appears clear that Sir Keir fails to make good personnel choices, or maintain them. Maybe he is overly occupied. Possibly he lacks genuine interest. But he needs to up his game, not do things slowly or incompletely.

• He hesitated about assigning the crucial role of top civil servant to Chris Wormald.
• He made a former official his top aide, then substituted her with a political strategist.
• He brought a Treasury figure in from the finance ministry as his deputy.
• His media advisors have been frequently replaced.
• Political and policy advisers have come and gone.
• It is a mess.

Systemic Issues at the Heart of Government

All premiers spend too much time overseas and on foreign affairs, where Sir Keir should delegate more, and too little talking to 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 express surprise when their political appointees, who tend to be party loyalists or ambitious in politics, overstep boundaries or become the story, as Mr McSweeney now has.

The biggest issues, however, are systemic. It would be good to think that Sir Keir reviewed the a think tank's spring 2024 report on overhauling the centre of government. His failure to grip these issues in the summer or afterward implies he did not. The often abject performance of Labour’s time in office indicates IfG proposals like reorganizing the functions of the Cabinet Office and Downing Street, and dividing the jobs of top official and civil service head, are now urgent.

The dominant political role of PMs far outdistances the support available to them. As a result, all aspects suffer, and many tasks are poorly executed or ignored.

This is not Sir Keir’s fault alone. He is the casualty of previous shortcomings as well as the author of present ones. But those who hoped Sir Keir would take control of the centre and take the machinery of government seriously have been let down. Sadly, the biggest loser from this failure is Sir Keir personally.