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Sir Keir Starmer visited Wales' northern region on Thursday to announce the building of a new nuclear power station. This represents a significant policy event with both local and national implications. Yet, the PM did not devote much time in Wales to promoting answers for the UK's energy needs. Rather, he used the time trying to draw a line under the Labour leadership briefing row, informing journalists that No 10 had not undermined the health secretary's goals earlier this week.

Therefore, Sir Keir’s day served as a microcosm of what his prime ministership has now become more generally. Firstly, he desires his government to be performing, and to be perceived as performing, important things. Conversely, he is incapable to accomplish this because of the manner he – and, to an extent, the country as a whole – now practices politics and government.

Sir Keir is unable to change the culture of politics single-handedly, but he is able to do something about his own role in it. The plain fact is that he could run the centre of government far better than he currently does. If he did this, he could discover that the country was in less dismay about his administration than it currently is, and that he was getting his messages across more successfully.

Staffing Issues in No 10

Some of the issues in Downing Street are about personnel. The personal dynamics of every Downing Street operation are difficult to discern accurately from the exterior. But it seems obvious that Sir Keir fails to make good personnel choices, or stick with them. Maybe he is overly occupied. Perhaps he is not really interested. But he needs to up his game, not do things slowly or by halves.

• He dithered about giving the crucial role of top civil servant to a senior official.
• He appointed a former official his chief of staff, then replaced her with Morgan McSweeney.
• He recruited Darren Jones in from the Treasury as his deputy.
• His communications chiefs have been frequently replaced.
• Political and policy advisers have come and gone.
• It is a mess.

Systemic Issues at the Heart of Government

All premiers spend too much time abroad and on international matters, areas where Sir Keir ought to assign more tasks, and insufficient time conversing with parliamentarians and listening to the citizens. Premiers also allocate too much time doing media, which Sir Keir worsens by doing it poorly. Yet leaders cannot express surprise when their politically appointed staff, who tend to be party loyalists or politically ambitious, overstep boundaries or become the focus, as the chief of staff now has.

The biggest issues, however, are structural. It would be good to think that Sir Keir read the Institute for Government’s spring 2024 report on overhauling the government's central operations. His inability to grip these issues in the summer or since implies he did not. The often abject experience of Labour’s time in office suggests recommendations like restructuring the roles of the Cabinet Office and No 10, and separating the jobs of cabinet secretary and civil service head, are now urgent.

The dominant political role of prime ministers greatly exceeds the assistance provided to them. Consequently, all aspects suffer, and many tasks are poorly executed or ignored.

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. Sadly, the primary casualty from this shortcoming is Sir Keir himself.