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"I will remain in the same office by 2027," Starmer stated, adding that if our conversation went well, he might invite us into his official residence for another conversation in 2026.

For a PM, there's rarely ever downtime for leaders. In the hour before we sat down, Starmer had been in calls with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and trying to work out exactly what had occurred in Venezuela, where his big friend, US President Donald Trump, had just targeted and seized its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

Once our interview, which was far more extended than typical, had concluded, Maduro had been formally accused in New York.

A Reboot for the New Year

But as the year commences, the Prime Minister seems to have had a kind of a reboot. Maybe even just a little downtime with his family at Chequers, the prime minister's country retreat.

This seemed to have put him in better spirits than at the saggy end of 2025, a terrible year politically for him.

Yet, are he and his allies being unrealistic if they reckon his fortunes are poised to improve?

Internal Doubts

The grisly truth for the prime minister is that many of his party members believe he's ineffective at his job. A faction of them would rather take a risk and get him out sooner rather than later.

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

Repeatedly he insisted he'd be "assessed at the poll", maintaining nobody would take his electoral mandate from him – despite the fact that the best chance of preventing Nigel Farage and Reform UK reaching No 10 may be for Labour to replace leader.

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

The Spring Test

The problem for the prime minister is that he will be scrutinised well ahead of then – in a huge set of elections in May throughout the UK. He sought to argue, perhaps excessively, that they are concerning who runs councils, and who runs the devolved administrations in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not about Westminster.

Accurate – up to a point. But even though he may not want to concede it, No 10 will be evaluated by those elections too.

This did not stop Sir Keir stating that there were no scenario under which he would step down, should a his MPs ran against him for the job, if those elections be very poor for Labour.

An Optimistic Outlook

He attempted to account for his low poll ratings by saying the public was reasonably impatient for things to improve. He tried to persuade the interviewer, and the nation, that this year would be a change.

The economy would strengthen in the face of rising unemployment, he argued, when policies the administration implemented during their initial turbulent year began to bear fruit.

• He committed to close asylum hotels before the current target date of 2029, although he did not put a specific date on that.
• He noted too, with the qualification that it wasn't a foregone conclusion, that a peace deal in Ukraine felt more likely now than at any time since Russia's comprehensive invasion.
• He stated for the first time that Western allies were now discussing how to combine US and European forces to provide security for Ukraine – to protect a potential peace.

His big message is that soon the country will "turn the corner".

Familiar Arguments

The prime minister may have communicated with greater vigour than observed from him for a some time – less tense, maybe, with more time to talk.

However, in spite of encountering pressure from many directions for a more decisive approach, with increased political clarity, more vigour, more speed and more urgency, his points were familiar ones.

When he finds himself in this much political peril, should he consider a different script?

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

The Prime Minister's challenges are not only because government is difficult, but because he and his colleagues have made mistakes, even in the recent past.

Controversies and Dangers

The prime minister told me that he regretted saying he was "happy" to welcome back 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 – surfaced.

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

And he is courting obvious political risks as the year progresses. His alliance with the US president acquires a new complication 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 his career, the idea he would be at ease with such action seems implausible.

Policy Stances and Pressures

He asserted he was a "longtime champion of international law" but we "simply lack the complete details at the moment".

Some called for him to denounce it prior to we spoke. And the government is likely to face increased demands to give an definitive view in Parliament in the near future.

There has also consistently been growing desire in the Labour party to revisit some of the outcomes of Brexit.

Sir Keir disputes he's heading in that direction, but his new firmer commitment to align more closely with the single market – the giant economic European trading zone – will likely elicit accusations that he is breaking his vow never to try to reverse the choices that flowed from Brexit.

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