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"I'll remain in the same position by 2027," Sir Keir Starmer stated, joking that if the interview went well, he might invite the interviewer into Downing Street for another conversation in the coming year.

For a PM, there's never truly break for those in the top job. In the hour before the interview began, Sir Keir had been in calls with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and trying to work out precisely had occurred in Venezuela, where his close friend, US President Donald Trump, had recently attacked and captured its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

When the discussion, which was far more extended than normal, had finished, Maduro had been formally accused in New York.

Renewed Energy for the New Year

As the year commences, the Prime Minister appears to have had a kind of a refresh. Perhaps even just a bit of downtime with loved ones at Chequers, the prime minister's official country residence.

This appeared to have resulted in better spirits than at the saggy end of 2025, a dreadful annus horribilis for him.

But are he and his colleagues kidding themselves if they think his fortunes are poised to improve?

Party Concerns

The harsh reality for the prime minister is that a significant number of his fellow MPs are convinced he's not very good at his job. Some of them would rather take a risk and get him out in 2026.

But Sir Keir was rejecting the idea in the interview on Saturday morning.

On several occasions he stated he'd be "assessed at the general election", maintaining no one would take his five-year mandate from him – despite the fact that the best chance of stopping Nigel Farage and Reform UK reaching No 10 could be for Labour to change leader.

"We are in the battle of our lifetime and I aim to be at the forefront," he affirmed.

The May Elections

The problem for the PM is that he will be scrutinised long before then – in a major set of elections in May throughout the UK. He attempted to protest, perhaps excessively, that they are concerning who runs councils, and who runs the governments in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not a verdict on Westminster.

True – to some extent. But even though he may be reluctant to acknowledge it, No 10 will be evaluated by those elections too.

Despite this, Sir Keir implying that there were no circumstances under which he would resign, should a his colleagues challenged him for the job, should those elections be disastrous for Labour.

An Optimistic Outlook

He tried to account for his low poll ratings by saying the electorate was reasonably impatient for things to get better. He sought to convince me, and the nation, that this year would be different.

The economic situation would strengthen notwithstanding rising unemployment, he said, when plans the government implemented during their initial choppy year began to bear fruit.

• He committed to empty asylum hotels before the current target date of 2029, but he did not set a specific date on that.
• He noted too, with the qualification that it was not a done deal, that a settlement in Ukraine felt a greater possibility now than at any time since Russia's major invasion.
• He stated for the first time that Western partners were now discussing how to integrate US and European forces to ensure security for Ukraine – to protect a possible peace.

His core argument is that this year the country will "turn the corner".

A Consistent Script

The prime minister may have communicated with renewed vitality than I've seen from him for a some time – calmer, perhaps, with more time to talk.

But despite encountering demands from various quarters for a bolder approach, with greater political vision, more urgency, more speed and more urgency, his points were well-known ones.

When he finds himself in such significant political trouble, is a different approach required a new narrative?

No administration, and certainly not one that has been unpopular for an extended period, has everything its own way.

The Prime Minister's challenges are not just because governing is hard, but because he and his colleagues have erred, even in the recent past.

Regrets and Risks

The PM told me that he was sorry for saying he was "pleased" to see the return of the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK following an backlash when comments he'd previously made – including calls for Zionists and police to be killed – surfaced.

Starmer blamed "the system" for not catching what the activist had said before – a fancier way of saying not my fault.

And he is facing evident political perils as the year gets going. His alliance with the US president entails a new risk after Trump's military action on Venezuela.

Having interviewed Sir Keir Starmer, a former human rights lawyer who opposed the war in Iraq, over a long period, the idea he would be content with these events seems unlikely.

Policy Stances and Pressures

He asserted he was a "career-long proponent of international law" but we "just do not have the complete details at the moment".

Critics called for him to denounce it prior to we spoke. And the administration is expected to face more pressure to give an clear view in Parliament in the coming days.

And there has always been growing tension in the Labour party to revisit some of the consequences of Brexit.

Sir Keir disputes he's pursuing that, but his new specific commitment to integrate further with the single market – the vast economic European market – will probably trigger howls that he is breaking his pledge never to try to reverse the decisions that stemmed from Brexit.

A commitment to cosy up to more of the single market will satisfy many on his side of the party, but it is easy fodder for Reform and the Conservatives to