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Sir Keir Starmer traveled to north Wales this past Thursday to announce the building of a new nuclear power station. This is a major policy announcement with both local and national implications. Yet, the prime minister did not devote extensive time in Wales to advocating solutions for the UK's power requirements. Instead, he used the time trying to put an end to the briefing controversy within Labour's leadership, informing reporters that No 10 had not undermined the health secretary’s ambitions in recent days.

As such, Sir Keir’s day acted as a microcosm of what his prime ministership has evolved into more generally. Firstly, he desires his government to be doing, and to be perceived as performing, significant actions. On the other hand, he is unable to accomplish this due to the manner he – and, to an extent, the nation more generally – now practices politics and government.

The Prime Minister cannot transform the culture of politics single-handedly, but he can take action about his personal involvement in it. The plain fact is that he could manage the government's core far better than he currently does. If he did this, he might find that the nation was in less dismay about his administration than it currently is, and that he was getting his messages across more effectively.

Personnel Problems in No 10

A number of the issues in Downing Street relate to personnel. The interpersonal relations of every Downing Street operation are hard to know well from outside. Yet it appears clear that Sir Keir fails to make sound staffing decisions, or maintain them. Maybe he is overly occupied. Possibly he lacks genuine interest. But he needs to improve his performance, not do things slowly or by halves.

• He dithered about assigning the crucial role of top civil servant to a senior official.
• He appointed Sue Gray his chief of staff, then substituted her with Morgan McSweeney.
• He brought Darren Jones in from the Treasury as his chief secretary.
• His media advisors have chopped and changed.
• Advisors on politics and policy have come and gone.
• It is a mess.

Systemic Issues at the Core of Government

Every prime minister spend too much time overseas and on foreign affairs, areas where Sir Keir ought to assign more tasks, and too little conversing with MPs and hearing the citizens. Prime ministers also allocate too much time doing media, which Sir Keir compounds by performing inadequately. But premiers 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 has recently.

The biggest issues, however, are systemic. It would be beneficial 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 last July or afterward implies he did not. The often abject performance of Labour’s time in office suggests IfG proposals 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 now urgent.

The dominant political role of PMs greatly exceeds the assistance provided to them. As a result, all aspects suffer, and many tasks are poorly executed or neglected.

This is not Sir Keir’s fault alone. He stands as the casualty of past failures along with the author of current mistakes. But those who hoped Sir Keir would take control of the core and take the machinery of government seriously have been let down. Sadly, the primary casualty from this shortcoming is Sir Keir himself.