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"I'll remain in the same office by 2027," Starmer remarked, noting that if the interview was successful, he might invite us into Number 10 for another talk in 2026.

There is never any time off for prime ministers. In the hour before we sat down, the PM had been on the phone with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and attempting to work out exactly what had transpired in Venezuela, where his big friend, US President Donald Trump, had recently attacked and captured its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

Once the discussion, which was considerably lengthier than usual, had finished, Maduro had been indicted in New York.

Renewed Energy for the New Year

But as the year commences, Sir Keir seems to have had something of a reboot. Perhaps even just some a rest with loved ones at Chequers, the prime minister's official country residence.

That certainly appeared to have put him in improved morale than at the sluggish conclusion of 2025, a terrible political year for him.

Yet, are he and his supporters deluding themselves if they think his standing are poised to get better?

Leadership Questions

The harsh reality for the leader is that many of his party members are convinced he's ineffective at his job. Several of them would sooner gamble and oust him sooner rather than later.

However Starmer was having none of it when we spoke on Saturday morning.

Repeatedly he stated he'd be "judged at the poll", insisting nobody would strip his electoral mandate from him – despite the fact that the best chance of preventing Nigel Farage and Reform UK getting to No 10 may be for Labour to replace leader.

"This is the fight of our generation and I intend to guide the party," he declared.

Upcoming Local Votes

The issue for the PM is that he will be assessed well ahead of then – in a mega set of elections in May across the UK. He attempted to argue, perhaps too much, that they are concerning who runs local authorities, and who runs the devolved administrations in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not about Westminster.

True – to some extent. But although he may not want to acknowledge it, No 10 will be held accountable by those elections too.

This did not stop Sir Keir suggesting that there were no situation under which he would step down, even if one of his MPs ran against him for the job, should those elections prove disastrous for Labour.

Predicting a Turnaround

He attempted to account for his low poll ratings by saying the voters was understandably eager for things to improve. He aimed to persuade the interviewer, and the nation, that this year would be different.

The economic situation would improve notwithstanding rising unemployment, he argued, when strategies the administration enacted during their first choppy year began to bear fruit.

• He pledged to close asylum hotels ahead of the current target date of 2029, although he wouldn't put a specific date on that.
• He noted too, with the caveat that it was not a certainty, that a peace agreement in Ukraine felt closer now than at any time since Russia's major invasion.
• He stated for the first occasion that Western allies were now discussing how to coordinate US and European forces to ensure security for Ukraine – to guard a possible peace.

His central message is that soon the country will "reach a turning point".

Familiar Arguments

The PM may have communicated with renewed vitality than observed from him for a some time – less tense, perhaps, with a longer slot to talk.

However, in spite of encountering calls from many directions for a bolder approach, with increased political vision, more urgency, more pace and more urgency, his arguments were familiar ones.

When he finds himself in such significant political trouble, does he need a new narrative?

No government, and especially not one that has been struggling in the polls for an extended period, gets everything its as desired.

The Prime Minister's problems are not just because governing is difficult, but because he and his colleagues have made mistakes, including in the last few weeks.

Controversies and Dangers

The prime minister admitted that he regretted saying he was "delighted" to see the return of the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK following an controversy when statements he'd made in the past – such as calls for Zionists and police to be killed – resurfaced.

Sir Keir blamed "procedures" for not realising what the activist had said before – a fancier way of saying it wasn't his responsibility.

And he is courting clear political perils as the year gets going. His friendship with the US president acquires a new complication after Trump's strikes on Venezuela.

Having interviewed Sir Keir Starmer, a former human rights lawyer who opposed the war in Iraq, over many years, the thought he would be content with this kind of intervention seems far-fetched.

Policy Stances and Pressures

He asserted he was a "career-long champion of international law" but the public "just do not have the full picture at the moment".

Opponents demanded criticise the action prior to the interview. And the government is expected to face further scrutiny to give an definitive view in Parliament in the near future.

There has also long been simmering pressure in the Labour ranks to reverse or renegotiate some of the outcomes of Brexit.

Sir Keir rejects he's doing that, but his new firmer pledge to integrate further with the European trading bloc – the vast economic European market – will probably elicit howls that he is reneging on his pledge never to try to undo the results that flowed from Brexit.

A decision to align with more of the single market will delight some on his own side, but it is simple material for Reform and the Conservatives to