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Sir Keir Starmer visited Wales' northern region on Thursday to reveal the construction of a new nuclear power station. This represents a significant policy event with both local and national implications. Yet, the prime minister did not devote much time in Wales to advocating solutions for the UK's energy needs. Instead, he used the time trying to draw a line under the Labour leadership briefing row, informing reporters that Downing Street had not briefed against the health secretary's goals 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 desires his administration to be doing, and to be perceived as performing, important things. Conversely, he is unable to achieve this due to the way he – and, to an extent, the nation more generally – now practices politics and government.

Sir Keir cannot change the culture of politics single-handedly, but he can do something about his personal involvement in it. The simple truth is that he could run the government's core far better than he does. Should he achieve this, he could discover that the nation was in less despair about his administration than it is, and that he was getting his messages across more successfully.

Personnel Problems in No 10

A number of the issues in Downing Street relate to personnel. The interpersonal relations of any No 10 regime are difficult to discern well from outside. Yet it appears clear that Sir Keir fails to make good personnel choices, or stick with them. Perhaps he is too busy. Possibly he lacks genuine interest. But he needs to up his game, avoid slow progress or by halves.

• He dithered about giving the key job of cabinet secretary to a senior official.
• He made Sue Gray his top aide, then substituted her with a political strategist.
• He brought Darren Jones in from the Treasury as his deputy.
• His communications chiefs have chopped and changed.
• Advisors on politics and policy have entered and exited.
• It is a mess.

Structural Challenges at the Core of Government

Every prime minister spend too much time overseas and on international matters, areas where Sir Keir ought to assign more tasks, and too little conversing with MPs and hearing the citizens. Premiers also allocate too much time doing media, which Sir Keir worsens by performing inadequately. But premiers cannot claim to be surprised when their politically appointed staff, who tend to be party loyalists or politically ambitious, overstep boundaries or become the focus, as Mr McSweeney now has.

The biggest issues, though, are structural. It would be good to think that Sir Keir reviewed the a think tank'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 experience of Labour’s time in office indicates IfG proposals like reorganizing the roles of the central government office and Downing Street, and separating the jobs of top official and head of the civil service, are currently critical.

The dominant political role of prime ministers greatly exceeds the assistance provided to them. Consequently, all aspects suffer, and much is done badly or neglected.

This isn't Sir Keir’s sole responsibility. He is the casualty of past failures as well as the architect of present ones. Yet individuals who expected Sir Keir might get a grip on the core and prioritize governmental structures have been let down. Unfortunately, the biggest loser from this failure is Sir Keir himself.