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Sir Keir Starmer traveled to north Wales this past Thursday to announce the development of a new nuclear power station. This is a significant policy event with both local and national implications. However, the prime minister did not dedicate much time in Wales to promoting solutions for the UK's power requirements. Rather, he spent it attempting to draw a line under the Labour leadership briefing row, informing reporters that Downing Street had not undermined the health secretary's goals earlier this week.

Therefore, Sir Keir’s day served as a small-scale example of what his premiership has evolved into overall. Firstly, he desires his administration to be doing, and to be seen to be doing, important things. Conversely, he is unable to achieve this due to the manner he – and, to an extent, the country more generally – now conducts politics and government.

Sir Keir cannot transform the culture of politics single-handedly, but he is able to do something about his own role in it. The plain fact is that he could run the centre of government far better than he currently does. If he did this, he could discover that the country was in less dismay about his administration than it is, and that he was getting his messages across more effectively.

Staffing Issues in Downing Street

A number 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. However, he must to up his game, not do things slowly or incompletely.

• He dithered about giving the key job of cabinet secretary to a senior official.
• He appointed Sue Gray his chief of staff, then substituted her with Morgan McSweeney.
• He brought a Treasury figure in from the finance ministry as his deputy.
• His media advisors have been frequently replaced.
• Advisors on politics and policy have entered and exited.
• It is a mess.

Structural Challenges at the Core of the Administration

Every prime minister spend too much time abroad and on international matters, areas where Sir Keir ought to assign more tasks, and insufficient time talking to MPs and hearing the public. Prime ministers also spend too much time doing media, which Sir Keir worsens by performing inadequately. Yet leaders cannot express surprise when their political appointees, who tend to be party loyalists or politically ambitious, overstep boundaries or become the story, as Mr McSweeney has recently.

The biggest issues, however, are structural. It would be beneficial to think that Sir Keir reviewed the Institute for Government’s spring 2024 study on reforming the centre of government. 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 indicates IfG proposals like reorganizing the functions of the Cabinet Office and Downing Street, and dividing the jobs of top official and head of the civil service, are now urgent.

The political pre-eminence of prime ministers greatly exceeds the assistance provided to them. Consequently, everything currently suffers, and many tasks are poorly executed or neglected.

This is not Sir Keir’s sole responsibility. He stands as the casualty of previous shortcomings along with the architect of present ones. Yet individuals who expected Sir Keir might get a grip on the centre and prioritize governmental structures have been disappointed. Unfortunately, the biggest loser from this shortcoming is Sir Keir himself.