🔗 Share this article

"I will be positioned in the same position by 2027," the Prime Minister remarked, adding that if the interview went well, he might invite the interviewer into Downing Street for a follow-up chat in 2026.

For a PM, there's rarely ever downtime for those in the top job. Shortly before our chat started, Sir Keir had been in calls with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and trying to understand precisely had occurred in Venezuela, where his close ally, US President Donald Trump, had just launched a strike against and detained its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

By the time our lengthy talk, which was considerably lengthier than typical, had ended, Maduro had been indicted in New York.

A Refresh for the New Year

But as the new year begins, Starmer seems to have had a kind of a reboot. Perhaps even just some a rest with loved ones at Chequers, the prime minister's country retreat.

That certainly appeared to have left him in better spirits than at the saggy conclusion of 2025, a terrible year politically for him.

But are he and his supporters being unrealistic if they think his standing are set to improve?

Internal Doubts

The harsh truth for the prime minister is that a significant number of his colleagues think he's underperforming at his job. Some of them would rather gamble and get him out in 2026.

But Starmer was rejecting the idea in the interview on Saturday morning.

Repeatedly he told me he'd be "judged at the general election", arguing nobody would strip his electoral mandate from him – despite the fact that the best chance of stopping Nigel Farage and Reform UK entering No 10 might be for Labour to replace leader.

"We are in the battle of our lifetime and I plan to guide the party," he said.

The May Elections

The issue for the PM is that he will be scrutinised far sooner than then – in a huge set of elections in May across the UK. He tried to argue, maybe too much, that they are concerning who runs councils, and who runs the governments 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 circumstances under which he would resign, should one of his MPs contested his leadership for the job, if those elections be catastrophic for Labour.

An Optimistic Outlook

He attempted to explain his low poll ratings by saying the electorate was naturally eager for things to improve. He aimed to convince the interviewer, and the nation, that this year would be distinct.

The economic situation would improve notwithstanding rising unemployment, he argued, when plans the government put in place during their initial choppy year began to show results.

• He vowed to empty asylum hotels ahead of the current target date of 2029, but he wouldn't set a firm date on that.
• He said too, with the proviso that it wasn't a done deal, that a peace deal in Ukraine felt a greater possibility now than at any point since Russia's full-scale invasion.
• He revealed for the first time that Western allies were now discussing how to coordinate US and European forces to offer security for Ukraine – to protect a possible peace.

His big message is that in 2026 the country will "see an improvement".

Familiar Arguments

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

But despite encountering pressure from various quarters for a bolder approach, with increased political vision, more vigour, more speed and more immediacy, his arguments were well-known ones.

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

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

Sir Keir's challenges are not just because governing is hard, but because he and his team have faltered, even in the recent past.

Controversies and Dangers

The prime minister 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 backlash when statements he'd previously made – including calls for Zionists and police to be killed – surfaced.

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

And he is courting evident political risks as the year unfolds. His close relationship with the US president acquires a new jeopardy 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 thought he would be comfortable with such action seems far-fetched.

Policy Stances and Pressures

He stated he was a "longtime proponent of international law" but the public "just lack the entire story at the moment".

Critics demanded criticise the action prior to we spoke. And the administration is expected to face more pressure to give an clear view in Parliament in the coming days.

There has also consistently been growing desire in the Labour ranks to reverse or renegotiate some of the consequences of Brexit.

Sir Keir disputes he's doing that, but his new specific plan to move closer with the single market – the vast economic European trading zone – will likely elicit howls that he is reneging on his promise never to try to undo the results that followed Brexit.

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