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"I will remain in this seat by 2027," Starmer remarked, adding that if the conversation proceeded smoothly, he might invite the interviewer into Downing Street for a follow-up chat in the coming year.

For a PM, there's rarely ever time off for prime ministers. In the hour before we sat down, the PM had been in calls with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and attempting to work out precisely had occurred in Venezuela, where his key political chum, US President Donald Trump, had recently launched a strike against and detained its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

By the time the discussion, which was considerably lengthier than typical, had concluded, Maduro had been formally accused in New York.

Renewed Energy for the New Year

But as the new year begins, the Prime Minister appears to have had something of a revitalisation. Maybe even just a little relaxation with loved ones at Chequers, the prime minister's rural getaway.

This appeared to have left him in better spirits than at the sluggish tail end of 2025, a terrible political year for him.

Yet, are he and his colleagues kidding themselves if they reckon his fortunes are poised to improve?

Leadership Questions

The harsh reality for the PM is that numerous of his colleagues are convinced he's not very good at his job. Several of them would sooner take a risk and oust him sooner rather than later.

But Sir Keir was dismissing such talk during our conversation on Saturday morning.

Repeatedly he insisted he'd be "judged at the next election", insisting no one would take his five-year mandate from him – despite the fact that the optimal path of preventing Nigel Farage and Reform UK getting to No 10 may be for Labour to replace its leader.

"This is the battle of our times and I intend to lead us," he affirmed.

Upcoming Local Votes

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, maybe 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 – to some extent. But even though he may not want to admit 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 resign, even if a his colleagues contested his leadership for the job, should those elections be catastrophic for Labour.

An Optimistic Outlook

He sought to account for his low poll ratings by saying the public was reasonably impatient for things to change. He tried to persuade the interviewer, and the nation, that the coming months would be different.

The economy would recover despite rising unemployment, he argued, when strategies the government put in place during their first rocky year began to take effect.

• He vowed to close asylum hotels before the current deadline of 2029, although he wouldn't set a firm date on that.
• He noted too, with the proviso that it was not a certainty, that a peace agreement in Ukraine felt a greater possibility now than at any point since Russia's comprehensive invasion.
• He stated for the first occasion that Western partners were now discussing how to integrate US and European forces to ensure security for Ukraine – to guard a possible peace.

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

Familiar Arguments

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

But despite facing pressure from within his own party for a more decisive strategy, with much more political direction, more dynamism, more pace and more immediacy, his points were well-known ones.

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

No government, and certainly not one that has been unpopular for many months, has everything its as desired.

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

Regrets and Risks

The prime minister expressed regret that he regretted saying he was "pleased" to welcome back the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK following an backlash 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 not realising what the activist had said before – a fancier way of saying it wasn't his responsibility.

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

Based on years of interviewing Sir Keir Starmer, a ex- human rights lawyer who was against the war in Iraq, over a long period, the notion he would be comfortable with this kind of intervention seems implausible.

International Law and Brexit

He asserted he was a "longtime champion of international law" but we "just do not have the complete details at the moment".

Opponents called for him to denounce it prior to the interview. And the administration is likely to face more pressure to give an definitive view in Parliament in the coming days.

There has also always been growing pressure in the Labour ranks to undo or remake some of the consequences of Brexit.

Sir Keir disputes he's pursuing that, but his new firmer commitment to move closer with the EU's single market – the giant economic European market – will likely elicit howls that he is reneging on his vow never to try to overturn the results that followed Brexit.

A move to align with more of the single market will delight some on his backbenches, but it is prime ammunition for Reform and the Conservatives to