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Prime Minister Starmer visited north Wales this past Thursday to announce the building of a fresh nuclear energy facility. This represents a major policy announcement with both local and national implications. However, the PM did not devote much time in Wales to advocating answers for the UK's power requirements. Rather, he spent it trying to put an end to the Labour leadership briefing row, telling reporters that Downing Street had not undermined the health secretary's goals earlier this week.

As such, Sir Keir’s day acted as a microcosm of what his prime ministership has now become more generally. Firstly, he desires his administration to be doing, and to be perceived as performing, significant actions. On the other hand, he is incapable to achieve this because of the way he – and, partly, the country more generally – now practices political and governmental affairs.

Sir Keir cannot change the political culture on his own, but he can take action about his personal involvement in it. The plain fact is that he could manage the government's core much more effectively than he currently does. If he did this, he might find that the nation was in less despair about his government than it currently is, and that he was getting his messages across more effectively.

Personnel Problems in Downing Street

Some of the problems in Number 10 relate to individuals. The personal dynamics of any No 10 regime 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 by halves.

• He dithered about assigning the key job of cabinet secretary to a senior official.
• He made a former official his top aide, then substituted her with a political strategist.
• He recruited Darren Jones in from the Treasury as his chief secretary.
• His media advisors have chopped and changed.
• Advisors on politics and policy have entered and exited.
• It is a mess.

Structural Challenges at the Core of the Administration

All premiers spend too much time overseas and on international matters, where Sir Keir should delegate more, and too little talking to parliamentarians and hearing the citizens. Premiers also spend too much time engaging with the press, which Sir Keir compounds by performing inadequately. But premiers cannot claim to be surprised when their politically appointed staff, who tend to be party activists or ambitious in politics, cross lines or become the story, as Mr McSweeney now has.

The most significant problems, however, are systemic. It would be beneficial to think that Sir Keir reviewed the Institute for Government’s March 2024 study on reforming the government's central operations. His failure to address these matters in the summer or afterward suggests he did not. The often abject performance of the Labour administration suggests IfG proposals like reorganizing the functions of the central government office and Downing Street, and separating the positions of top official and civil service head, are currently critical.

The political pre-eminence of prime ministers greatly exceeds the support available to them. Consequently, everything currently suffers, and much is done badly or neglected.

This isn't Sir Keir’s sole responsibility. He stands as the casualty of previous shortcomings along with the author of current mistakes. 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.