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Prime Minister Starmer visited Wales' northern region on Thursday to announce the development of a fresh nuclear energy facility. This is a significant policy event with implications at local and countrywide levels. Yet, the prime minister did not devote extensive time in Wales to promoting solutions for the UK's power requirements. Rather, he used the time trying to draw a line under the briefing controversy within Labour's leadership, telling reporters that No 10 had not briefed against the health secretary's goals in recent days.

As such, Sir Keir’s day acted as a small-scale example of what his prime ministership has now become more generally. Firstly, he desires his government to be doing, and to be seen to be doing, significant actions. Conversely, he is unable to achieve this due to the manner he – and, to an extent, the country more generally – now conducts political and governmental affairs.

Sir Keir is unable to 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 far better than he does. Should he achieve this, he could discover that the country was in less despair about his administration than it is, and that he was getting his messages across more successfully.

Personnel Problems in Downing Street

Some of the issues in Number 10 relate to personnel. The personal dynamics of any No 10 regime are difficult to discern well from outside. Yet it appears clear that Sir Keir fails to make sound staffing decisions, or maintain them. Perhaps he is too busy. Perhaps he is not really interested. But he needs to up his game, avoid slow progress or incompletely.

• He hesitated about giving the key job of top civil servant to a senior official.
• He made Sue Gray his chief of staff, then replaced her with a political strategist.
• 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.
• The situation is chaotic.

Structural Challenges at the Heart of Government

Every prime minister devote excessive time overseas and on international matters, areas where Sir Keir ought to assign more tasks, and insufficient time conversing with parliamentarians and listening to the citizens. Prime ministers also spend too much time doing media, which Sir Keir compounds by performing inadequately. Yet leaders cannot claim to be surprised when their political appointees, who are often party loyalists or ambitious in politics, cross lines or become the story, as the chief of staff has recently.

The biggest issues, though, are structural. It would be beneficial to believe that Sir Keir reviewed the a think tank's spring 2024 study on reforming the government's central operations. His inability to address these matters last July or since suggests he did not. The often abject experience of the Labour administration suggests recommendations like restructuring the roles of the Cabinet Office and No 10, and separating the jobs of top official and civil service head, are currently critical.

The dominant political role of PMs far outdistances the support available to them. As a result, all aspects suffer, and much is done badly or neglected.

This isn't Sir Keir’s sole responsibility. He stands as the victim of past failures along with the author of current mistakes. Yet individuals who expected Sir Keir would take control of the core and take the machinery of government seriously have been let down. Unfortunately, the primary casualty from this failure is Sir Keir personally.