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"I'll remain in this office by 2027," Starmer declared, joking that if the discussion was successful, he might welcome us into Downing Street for a follow-up conversation in 2026.

For a PM, there's rarely ever downtime for those in the top job. Just an hour before we sat down, the PM had been on the phone with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and trying to decipher precisely had transpired in Venezuela, where his big political chum, US President Donald Trump, had just attacked and captured its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

Once the discussion, which was far more extended than usual, had finished, Maduro had been charged in New York.

Renewed Energy for the New Year

As the year commences, the Prime Minister appears to have had a degree of a revitalisation. Perhaps even just a little relaxation with loved ones at Chequers, the prime minister's country retreat.

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

But are he and his colleagues being unrealistic if they think his standing are poised to get better?

Internal Doubts

The harsh truth for the PM is that a significant number of his fellow MPs think he's underperforming at his job. A faction of them would sooner gamble and remove him sooner rather than later.

But Starmer was having none of it in the interview on Saturday morning.

Repeatedly he insisted he'd be "evaluated at the next election", arguing no one would remove his five-year mandate from him – even if the most effective strategy of halting Nigel Farage and Reform UK entering No 10 could be for Labour to switch leader.

"This is the struggle of our generation and I intend to lead us," he declared.

The May Elections

The challenge for the PM is that he will be assessed far sooner than then – in a major set of elections in May across the UK. He attempted to contend, perhaps too much, that they are concerning who runs local authorities, and who runs the devolved administrations in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not a verdict on Westminster.

True – in part. But even though he may be reluctant to admit it, No 10 will be evaluated by those elections too.

Despite this, Sir Keir implying that there were no situation under which he would step down, should one of his colleagues ran against him for the job, should those elections prove catastrophic for Labour.

Promises of Improvement

He attempted to rationalise his low poll ratings by saying the electorate was reasonably anxious for things to get better. He aimed to persuade the interviewer, and the nation, that this year would be distinct.

The economic situation would improve notwithstanding rising unemployment, he argued, when plans the administration implemented during their first turbulent year began to show results.

• He committed to shut asylum hotels ahead of the current deadline of 2029, although he wouldn't set a new date on that.
• He added too, with the proviso that it wasn't a foregone conclusion, that a peace deal in Ukraine felt more likely now than at any point since Russia's full-scale invasion.
• He disclosed for the first time that Western partners were now discussing how to combine US and European forces to offer security for Ukraine – to guard a possible peace.

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

Political Challenges

The prime minister may have communicated with more energy than observed from him for a some time – calmer, perhaps, with a longer slot to talk.

However, in spite of facing demands from many directions for a more decisive approach, with increased political direction, more dynamism, more pace and more immediacy, his arguments were familiar ones.

Given that he is in such significant political trouble, is a different approach required a new narrative?

No administration, and especially not one that has been unpopular for an extended period, gets everything its as desired.

Sir Keir's challenges are not only because government is difficult, but because he and his colleagues have erred, even in the recent past.

Controversies and Dangers

The PM expressed regret 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 past remarks he'd made in the past – including calls for Zionists and police to be killed – came to light.

Starmer blamed "the process" for failing to identify what the activist had said before – a more diplomatic way of saying it wasn't his responsibility.

And he is inviting evident political dangers as the year unfolds. His alliance with the US president entails a new risk after Trump's intervention on Venezuela.

Based on years of interviewing Sir Keir Starmer, a former human rights lawyer who opposed the war in Iraq, over a long period, the thought he would be at ease with these events seems implausible.

Policy Stances and Pressures

He told me he was a "career-long champion of international law" but we "just haven't got the complete details at the moment".

Some demanded condemn it before we spoke. And the government is likely to face further scrutiny to give an clear view in Parliament in the next few days.

There has also long been bubbling tension in the Labour party to revisit some of the consequences of Brexit.

Sir Keir rejects he's heading in that direction, but his new firmer pledge to integrate further with the single market – the vast economic European trading zone – will likely trigger accusations that he is reneging on his promise never to try to undo the choices that flowed from Brexit.

A commitment to integrate into more of the single market will please some on his own side, but it is simple material for Reform and the Conservatives to