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"I will remain in this office by 2027," the Prime Minister stated, joking that if the conversation went well, he might invite the interviewer into Number 10 for a follow-up talk next year.

For a PM, there's rarely ever downtime for leaders. Just an hour before our chat started, the PM had been on the phone with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and attempting to understand what on earth had happened in Venezuela, where his key political chum, US President Donald Trump, had recently attacked and captured its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

By the time our lengthy talk, which was much longer than usual, had ended, Maduro had been charged in New York.

A Refresh for the New Year

As the year starts, Sir Keir seems to have had something of a revitalisation. Perhaps even just some downtime with loved ones at Chequers, the prime minister's official country residence.

This seemed to have resulted in a more positive mood than at the difficult end of 2025, a awful annus horribilis for him.

Yet, are he and his colleagues being unrealistic if they reckon his standing are poised to get better?

Party Concerns

The grisly truth for the PM is that a significant number of his party members 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 having none of it in the interview on Saturday morning.

Repeatedly he stated he'd be "judged at the next election", arguing no one would take his five-year mandate from him – despite the fact that the best chance of stopping Nigel Farage and Reform UK entering No 10 could be for Labour to change its leader.

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

Upcoming Local Votes

The issue for the prime minister is that he will be scrutinised long before then – in a major set of elections in May across the UK. He tried to argue, perhaps too much, that they are concerning who runs councils, and who runs the devolved administrations in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not a verdict on Westminster.

True – in part. But although he may be reluctant to admit it, No 10 will be held accountable by those elections too.

Despite this, Sir Keir suggesting that there were no scenario under which he would walk away, should a his MPs contested his leadership for the job, if those elections prove disastrous for Labour.

Promises of Improvement

He attempted to account for his low poll ratings by saying the electorate was naturally anxious for things to change. He sought to assure the interviewer, and the nation, that 2026 would be distinct.

The economy would strengthen notwithstanding rising unemployment, he claimed, when plans the administration implemented during their initial turbulent year began to show results.

• He committed to close asylum hotels before the current target date of 2029, but he did not set a new date on that.
• He added too, with the caveat that it was not a certainty, that a peace deal 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 talking about how to combine US and European forces to provide security for Ukraine – to protect a potential peace.

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

A Consistent Script

The PM may have spoken with renewed vitality than observed from him for a some time – calmer, maybe, 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 dynamism, more pace and more urgency, his explanations were familiar ones.

Given that he is in such significant political difficulty, is a different approach required a different script?

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

The Prime Minister's problems are not just because government is difficult, but because he and his team have faltered, including in the last few weeks.

Controversies and Dangers

The prime minister admitted that he was sorry for saying he was "happy" to see the return of the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK after an outcry when comments he'd made in the past – including calls for Zionists and police to be killed – surfaced.

Starmer attributed it to "procedures" for failing to identify what the activist had said before – a fancier way of saying not my fault.

And he is inviting evident political perils as the year unfolds. His close relationship with the US president acquires a new jeopardy after Trump's military action on Venezuela.

Having interviewed Sir Keir Starmer, a former human rights lawyer who was against the war in Iraq, over many years, the thought he would be content with such action seems far-fetched.

Policy Stances and Pressures

He stated he was a "lifelong proponent of international law" but the public "simply haven't got the complete details at the moment".

Opponents called for him to criticise the action prior to we spoke. And the government is likely to face increased demands to give an clear view in Parliament in the coming days.

There has also always been growing desire in the Labour party to undo or remake some of the outcomes of Brexit.

Sir Keir disputes he's doing that, but his new firmer commitment to align more closely with the EU's single market – the giant economic European market – will probably provoke protests that he is reneging on his pledge never to try to overturn the results that followed Brexit.

A decision to align with more of the single market will please many on his backbenches, but it is easy fodder for Reform and the Conservatives to