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Sir Keir Starmer visited north Wales this past Thursday to announce the building of a new nuclear power station. This represents 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 trying to draw a line under the briefing controversy within Labour's leadership, telling reporters that Downing Street had not undermined the health secretary’s ambitions earlier this week.

As such, Sir Keir’s day served as a small-scale example of what his prime ministership has evolved into overall. On the one hand, he wants his administration to be performing, and to be seen to be doing, important things. Conversely, he is unable to accomplish this because of the manner he – and, to an extent, the country as a whole – now conducts politics and government.

The Prime Minister is unable to transform the political culture single-handedly, but he can do something about his personal involvement in it. The plain fact is that he could manage the centre of government much more effectively than he currently does. Should he achieve this, he might find that the nation was in less despair about his administration than it currently is, and that he was communicating his points more successfully.

Staffing Issues in Downing Street

A number of the issues in Number 10 are about individuals. The personal dynamics of every Downing Street operation are hard to know accurately from the exterior. Yet it appears clear that Sir Keir does not make good personnel choices, or stick with them. Maybe he is overly occupied. Possibly he lacks genuine interest. But he needs to improve his performance, avoid slow progress or by halves.

• He hesitated about giving the key job of cabinet secretary to Chris Wormald.
• He appointed a former official his chief of staff, then substituted her with a political strategist.
• He recruited Darren Jones in from the Treasury as his chief secretary.
• His media advisors have been frequently replaced.
• Political and policy advisers have entered and exited.
• It is a mess.

Systemic Issues at the Heart of Government

All premiers spend too much time abroad and on foreign affairs, where Sir Keir should delegate more, and too little conversing with parliamentarians and listening to the public. Prime ministers also spend too much time engaging with the press, which Sir Keir compounds by performing inadequately. Yet leaders cannot claim to be surprised when their politically appointed staff, who tend to be party loyalists or ambitious in politics, overstep boundaries or become the story, as the chief of staff now has.

The biggest issues, however, are structural. It would be good to believe that Sir Keir read the Institute for Government’s March 2024 study on overhauling the centre of government. His failure to address these matters in the summer 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 No 10, and separating the positions of top official and head of the civil service, are currently critical.

The dominant political role of PMs far outdistances the support available to them. Consequently, all aspects suffer, and many tasks are poorly executed or neglected.

This is not Sir Keir’s fault alone. He stands as the victim of past failures along with the author of present ones. Yet individuals who expected Sir Keir would take control of the core and prioritize governmental structures have been disappointed. Sadly, the biggest loser from this shortcoming is Sir Keir himself.