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Prime Minister Starmer visited Wales' northern region on Thursday to declare the construction of a fresh nuclear energy facility. This represents a major policy announcement with implications at local and countrywide levels. Yet, the PM did not dedicate much time in Wales to promoting 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 ambitions in recent days.

Therefore, Sir Keir’s day served as a microcosm of what his premiership has evolved into more generally. Firstly, he wants his administration to be doing, and to be perceived as performing, important things. On the other hand, he is unable to achieve this because of the way he – and, to an extent, the country more generally – now practices politics and government.

Sir Keir is unable to change the political culture on his own, but he can 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 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 communicating his points more successfully.

Staffing Issues in No 10

A number of the problems 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 does not make good personnel choices, or stick with 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 assigning the crucial role of cabinet secretary to Chris Wormald.
• He appointed Sue Gray his top aide, then replaced her with a political strategist.
• He brought Darren Jones in from the finance ministry as his deputy.
• His communications chiefs have been frequently replaced.
• Political and policy advisers have entered and exited.
• It is a mess.

Structural Challenges at the Heart of Government

All premiers devote excessive time abroad and on international matters, where Sir Keir should delegate more, and insufficient time talking to parliamentarians and hearing the public. Premiers also spend too much time doing media, which Sir Keir compounds by doing it poorly. But premiers cannot claim to be surprised when their political appointees, who are often party activists or politically ambitious, overstep boundaries or become the focus, as Mr McSweeney has recently.

The biggest issues, however, are systemic. It would be good to think that Sir Keir read the a think tank's March 2024 study on reforming the government's central operations. His inability to address these matters last July or afterward implies he did not. The often abject performance of the Labour administration suggests recommendations like reorganizing the functions of the Cabinet Office and Downing Street, and dividing the positions of top official and civil service head, are currently critical.

The political pre-eminence of prime ministers far outdistances the support available 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 author of current mistakes. But those who hoped Sir Keir would take control of the centre and prioritize governmental structures have been let down. Unfortunately, the biggest loser from this failure is Sir Keir personally.