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Prime Minister Starmer visited Wales' northern region this past Thursday to announce the development of a new nuclear power station. This is a major policy announcement with both local and national implications. However, the prime minister did not dedicate much time in Wales to promoting answers for the UK's energy needs. Rather, he used the time attempting to draw a line under the Labour leadership briefing row, telling journalists that No 10 had not undermined the health secretary's goals in recent days.

As such, Sir Keir’s day served as a microcosm of what his premiership has now become overall. Firstly, he desires his administration to be doing, and to be perceived as performing, important things. On the other hand, he is unable to achieve this due to the manner he – and, partly, the nation as a whole – now conducts politics and government.

The Prime Minister cannot transform the culture of politics on his own, but he can take action about his personal involvement in it. The simple truth is that he could manage the government's core far better than he currently does. Should he achieve this, he could discover that the nation was in less dismay about his government than it is, and that he was getting his messages across more effectively.

Staffing Issues in No 10

Some of the problems in Number 10 relate to personnel. The interpersonal relations of any No 10 regime are hard to know well from outside. But it seems obvious 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, avoid slow progress or by halves.

• He dithered about assigning the key job of top civil servant to a senior official.
• He made a former official his chief of staff, then replaced her with Morgan McSweeney.
• He recruited Darren Jones in from the finance ministry 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 Heart of the Administration

Every prime minister spend too much time overseas and on international matters, where Sir Keir should delegate more, and too little talking to MPs and hearing the public. Prime ministers also allocate too much time engaging with the press, which Sir Keir compounds by doing it poorly. But premiers 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 story, as Mr McSweeney now has.

The biggest issues, however, are systemic. It would be good to think that Sir Keir reviewed the a think tank's March 2024 report on overhauling the government's central operations. His failure to address these matters last July or afterward suggests he did not. The frequently dismal experience of Labour’s time in office indicates recommendations like restructuring the roles of the Cabinet Office and No 10, and separating the jobs of top official and head of the civil service, are currently critical.

The political pre-eminence of PMs far outdistances the assistance provided to them. As a result, all aspects suffer, and many tasks are poorly executed or neglected.

This isn't Sir Keir’s sole responsibility. He is the victim of past failures as well as the author of present ones. Yet individuals who expected Sir Keir might get a grip on the core and take the machinery of government seriously have been disappointed. Unfortunately, the primary casualty from this failure is Sir Keir himself.