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"I will remain in the same office by 2027," the Prime Minister remarked, adding that if our conversation was successful, he might welcome us into his official residence for another chat next year.

For a PM, there's rarely ever time off for prime ministers. Just an hour before our chat started, the PM had been speaking with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and trying to decipher precisely had occurred in Venezuela, where his big political chum, US President Donald Trump, had just launched a strike against and detained its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

When our interview, which was far more extended than typical, had finished, Maduro had been indicted in New York.

A Reboot for the New Year

But as the new year begins, the Prime Minister seems to have had something of a refresh. Maybe even just some relaxation with the family at Chequers, the prime minister's official country residence.

That certainly appeared to have left him in a more positive mood than at the sluggish conclusion of 2025, a awful year politically for him.

Yet, are he and his allies kidding themselves if they think his standing are about to improve?

Leadership Questions

The harsh truth for the leader is that numerous of his fellow MPs believe he's ineffective at his job. Several of them would rather gamble and oust him sooner rather than later.

But Sir Keir was dismissing such talk in the interview on Saturday morning.

Multiple times he told me he'd be "evaluated at the general election", insisting no one would remove his electoral mandate from him – even if the most effective strategy of stopping Nigel Farage and Reform UK entering No 10 might be for Labour to change leader.

"This is the struggle of our generation and I intend to be at the forefront," he declared.

The Spring Test

The problem for the PM is that he will be scrutinised well ahead of then – in a huge 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 about Westminster.

Accurate – up to a point. But although he may be reluctant to admit it, No 10 will be judged by those elections too.

Despite this, Sir Keir stating that there were no scenario under which he would walk away, even if a his MPs 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 public was understandably anxious for things to get better. He aimed to persuade the interviewer, and the nation, that 2026 would be different.

The economy would recover in the face of rising unemployment, he claimed, when plans the government implemented during their first rocky year began to show results.

• He pledged to shut asylum hotels before the current deadline of 2029, but he wouldn't set a new date on that.
• He noted too, with the proviso that it was not a done deal, 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 integrate US and European forces to ensure security for Ukraine – to safeguard a possible peace.

His central 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 while – more relaxed, perhaps, with more time to talk.

However, in spite of facing pressure from many directions for a more decisive approach, with much more political vision, more urgency, more pace and more immediacy, his points were familiar ones.

Given that he is in considerable political trouble, does he need a different script?

No government, and certainly not one that has been struggling in the polls for an extended period, gets everything its own way.

Sir Keir's problems are not just because governing is difficult, but because he and his team have made mistakes, including in the recent past.

Regrets and Risks

The PM admitted 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 after an controversy when past remarks he'd previously made – including calls for Zionists and police to be killed – came to light.

Sir Keir attributed it to "the process" for not catching what the activist had said before – a fancier way of saying not my fault.

And he is courting evident political risks as the year progresses. 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 was against the war in Iraq, over his career, the notion he would be comfortable with this kind of intervention seems unlikely.

International Law and Brexit

He stated he was a "career-long champion of international law" but the public "just lack the complete details at the moment".

Opponents wanted him to denounce it prior to we spoke. And the administration is likely to face further scrutiny to give an definitive view in Parliament in the near future.

And there has consistently been simmering tension in the Labour party to undo or remake some of the results of Brexit.

The PM rejects he's pursuing that, but his new more concrete plan to integrate further with the single market – the vast economic European market – will likely provoke accusations that he is going back on his pledge never to try to undo the choices that stemmed from Brexit.

A commitment to align with more of the single market will satisfy many on his own side, but it is prime ammunition for Reform and the Conservatives to