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Sir Keir Starmer visited north Wales on Thursday to reveal the building of a fresh nuclear energy facility. This is a significant policy event with implications at local and countrywide levels. However, 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 journalists that Downing Street had not briefed against the health secretary's goals in recent days.

Therefore, Sir Keir’s day acted as a microcosm of what his prime ministership has now become overall. Firstly, he desires his government to be performing, and to be perceived as performing, significant actions. Conversely, he is incapable to accomplish this due to the manner he – and, partly, the country as a whole – now practices politics and government.

The Prime Minister is unable to transform the culture of politics on his own, but he is able to do something about his personal involvement in it. The simple truth is that he could manage the centre of government much more effectively than he does. If he did this, he could discover that the nation was in less despair about his government than it is, and that he was getting his messages across more successfully.

Personnel Problems in No 10

Some of the issues in Number 10 are about individuals. The interpersonal relations of any No 10 regime are difficult to discern well from outside. But it seems obvious that Sir Keir does not make good personnel choices, or stick with them. Maybe he is overly occupied. Perhaps he is not really interested. However, he must to improve his performance, not do things slowly or by halves.

• He hesitated about assigning the crucial role of cabinet secretary to a senior official.
• He made a former official his top aide, then substituted her with Morgan McSweeney.
• He recruited a Treasury figure in from the finance ministry as his deputy.
• His media advisors have chopped and changed.
• Advisors on politics and policy have entered and exited.
• It is a mess.

Structural Challenges at the Heart of the Administration

All premiers spend too much time abroad and on international matters, where Sir Keir should delegate more, and too little talking to MPs and listening to the public. Prime ministers also allocate too much time doing media, which Sir Keir worsens by doing it poorly. Yet leaders cannot claim to be surprised when their politically appointed staff, who tend to be party activists or ambitious in politics, overstep boundaries or become the focus, as Mr McSweeney 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 report on overhauling the centre of government. His failure to address these matters last July or since implies he did not. The frequently dismal performance of the Labour administration suggests recommendations like reorganizing the functions of the central government office and Downing Street, and separating the positions of cabinet secretary and head of the civil service, are now urgent.

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

This isn't Sir Keir’s fault alone. He is the victim of previous shortcomings as well as the author of present ones. But those who hoped Sir Keir would take control of the centre and prioritize governmental structures have been let down. Unfortunately, the primary casualty from this shortcoming is Sir Keir himself.