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"I'll be sitting in the same office by 2027," Starmer stated, noting that if the interview proceeded smoothly, he might welcome us into Number 10 for another talk in 2026.

There is never truly time off for leaders. Just an hour before the interview began, the PM had been on the phone with Ukraine's 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.

Once our lengthy talk, which was far more extended than typical, had ended, Maduro had been formally accused in New York.

A Refresh for the New Year

As the new year begins, the Prime Minister appears to have had something of a revitalisation. Maybe even just a little downtime with loved ones at Chequers, the prime minister's official country residence.

That certainly seemed to have left him in a more positive mood than at the sluggish tail end of 2025, a awful political year for him.

Yet, are he and his colleagues being unrealistic if they reckon his political fate are about to turn around?

Internal Doubts

The grisly reality for the prime minister is that numerous of his party members are convinced he's underperforming at his job. Several of them would rather gamble and oust him this year.

However Starmer was rejecting the idea when we spoke on Saturday morning.

Repeatedly he told me he'd be "evaluated at the general election", maintaining nobody would strip his term from him – despite the fact that the best chance of halting Nigel Farage and Reform UK getting to No 10 may be for Labour to change its leader.

"We are in the fight of our generation and I intend to guide the party," he declared.

Upcoming Local Votes

The problem for the PM is that he will be assessed far sooner than then – in a major set of elections in May throughout the UK. He tried to contend, maybe excessively, that they are concerning who runs councils, and who runs the devolved administrations in Holyrood or Cardiff – and unrelated to Westminster.

True – up to a point. But although he may be reluctant to concede it, No 10 will be held accountable by those elections too.

This did not stop Sir Keir implying that there were no situation under which he would resign, even if one of his colleagues contested his leadership for the job, should those elections be very poor for Labour.

An Optimistic Outlook

He attempted to explain his low poll ratings by saying the public was understandably eager for things to improve. He aimed to assure the interviewer, and the nation, that this year would be a change.

The economic situation would strengthen despite rising unemployment, he said, when policies the administration implemented during their first turbulent year began to show results.

• He committed to close asylum hotels before the current deadline of 2029, although he wouldn't put a new date on that.
• He noted too, with the qualification that it was not a foregone conclusion, that a settlement in Ukraine felt closer now than at any point since Russia's major invasion.
• He disclosed for the first occasion that Western allies were now talking about how to coordinate US and European forces to offer security for Ukraine – to safeguard a possible peace.

His central point is that this year the country will "see an improvement".

A Consistent Script

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

However, in spite of facing pressure from within his own party for a bolder strategy, with much more political vision, more vigour, more pace and more immediacy, his arguments were familiar ones.

When he finds himself in this much political trouble, does he need a new narrative?

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

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

Controversies and Dangers

The PM told me that he was sorry for 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 – surfaced.

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

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

Having interviewed Sir Keir Starmer, a ex- human rights lawyer who opposed the war in Iraq, over a long period, the idea he would be content with this kind of intervention seems far-fetched.

International Law and Brexit

He told me he was a "longtime advocate of international law" but the public "simply haven't got the complete details at the moment".

Critics called for him to criticise the action prior to we spoke. And the administration is likely to face more pressure to give an clear view in Parliament in the near future.

There has also consistently been bubbling tension in the Labour ranks to undo or remake some of the outcomes of Brexit.

The PM disputes he's pursuing that, but his new firmer plan to move closer with the European trading bloc – the giant economic European trading zone – will probably elicit accusations that he is reneging on his pledge never to try to overturn the results that flowed from Brexit.

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