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Prime Minister Starmer traveled to Wales' northern region on Thursday to reveal the development of a new nuclear power station. This represents a significant policy event with both local and national implications. Yet, the prime minister did not devote much time in Wales to advocating answers for the UK's power requirements. Rather, he spent it attempting to draw a line under the briefing controversy within Labour's leadership, telling reporters that No 10 had not briefed against the health secretary's goals earlier this week.

Therefore, Sir Keir’s day acted as a microcosm of what his prime ministership has now become overall. Firstly, he desires his administration to be doing, and to be perceived as performing, important things. On the other hand, he is unable to achieve this due to the way he – and, to an extent, the country more generally – now practices political and governmental affairs.

Sir Keir cannot change the political culture single-handedly, but he is able to take action about his own role in it. The plain fact is that he could run the government's core much more effectively 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 successfully.

Personnel Problems in No 10

Some of the problems in Number 10 relate to personnel. The interpersonal relations of any No 10 regime are hard to know well from outside. Yet it appears clear that Sir Keir fails to make sound staffing decisions, or maintain them. Perhaps he is too busy. Possibly he lacks genuine interest. However, he must to improve his performance, avoid slow progress or incompletely.

• He dithered about assigning the key job of top civil servant to Chris Wormald.
• He appointed Sue Gray his top aide, then replaced her with Morgan McSweeney.
• He brought a Treasury figure in from the Treasury as his chief secretary.
• His communications chiefs have chopped and changed.
• Political and policy advisers have come and gone.
• It is a mess.

Structural Challenges at the Heart of the Administration

Every prime minister spend too much time overseas and on foreign affairs, areas where Sir Keir ought to assign more tasks, and too little talking to parliamentarians and listening to the citizens. Prime ministers also allocate too much time doing media, which Sir Keir compounds by performing inadequately. Yet leaders cannot express surprise when their political appointees, who tend to be party loyalists or ambitious in politics, overstep boundaries or become the focus, as Mr McSweeney has recently.

The biggest issues, though, are structural. It would be beneficial to believe that Sir Keir read the Institute for Government’s spring 2024 report on overhauling the government's central operations. His inability to grip these issues in the summer or since implies he did not. The frequently dismal experience of Labour’s time in office suggests recommendations like restructuring the functions of the Cabinet Office and Downing Street, and dividing the positions of top official and head of the civil service, are currently critical.

The political pre-eminence of prime ministers far outdistances the assistance provided to them. Consequently, everything currently suffers, and much is done badly or neglected.

This is not Sir Keir’s fault alone. He is the victim of past failures as well as the author of present ones. Yet individuals who expected Sir Keir would take control of the core and take the machinery of government seriously have been disappointed. Sadly, the primary casualty from this shortcoming is Sir Keir himself.