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"I'll be positioned in the same position by 2027," the Prime Minister stated, noting that if the interview proceeded smoothly, he might invite us into Downing Street for another talk next year.

There is never any downtime for leaders. In the hour before we sat down, the PM had been on the phone with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and attempting to work out precisely had transpired in Venezuela, where his key ally, US President Donald Trump, had recently attacked and captured its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

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

A Refresh for the New Year

As the year starts, Sir Keir appears to have had something of a reboot. Perhaps even just some relaxation with his family at Chequers, the prime minister's country retreat.

This appeared to have resulted in better spirits than at the difficult tail end of 2025, a awful annus horribilis for him.

But are he and his supporters being unrealistic if they believe his political fate are poised to turn around?

Leadership Questions

The harsh truth for the leader is that many of his party members are convinced he's not very good at his job. Several of them would sooner gamble and get him out in 2026.

But Sir Keir was rejecting the idea in the interview on Saturday morning.

Multiple times he stated he'd be "evaluated at the next election", arguing no one would remove his term from him – even if the most effective strategy of halting Nigel Farage and Reform UK entering No 10 might be for Labour to switch its leader.

"We are in the fight of our generation and I plan to lead us," he affirmed.

The Spring Test

The issue for the PM is that he will be assessed well ahead of then – in a mega set of elections in May throughout the UK. He attempted to argue, maybe too much, that they are concerning who runs local authorities, and who runs the governments in Holyrood or Cardiff – and unrelated to Westminster.

True – up to a point. But even though he may be reluctant to concede it, No 10 will be judged by those elections too.

Despite this, Sir Keir suggesting that there were no circumstances under which he would walk away, should a his MPs ran against him for the job, if those elections be very poor for Labour.

Promises of Improvement

He sought to rationalise his unpopularity by saying the electorate was understandably eager for things to improve. He sought to persuade the interviewer, and the public, that 2026 would be a change.

The economy would strengthen notwithstanding rising unemployment, he claimed, when policies the administration enacted during their initial turbulent year began to take effect.

• He vowed to shut asylum hotels ahead of the current deadline of 2029, but he wouldn't set a firm date on that.
• He noted too, with the caveat that it wasn't a done deal, that a peace deal in Ukraine felt more likely now than at any time since Russia's comprehensive invasion.
• He revealed for the first time that Western partners were now talking about how to combine US and European forces to provide security for Ukraine – to safeguard a possible peace.

His core argument is that this year the country will "reach a turning point".

Familiar Arguments

The PM may have spoken with renewed vitality than I've seen from him for a some time – more relaxed, perhaps, with more time to talk.

However, in spite of facing demands from within his own party for a bolder approach, with greater political clarity, more urgency, more speed and more urgency, his arguments were repeated ones.

Given that he is in such significant political difficulty, does he need a change of tack?

No government, and certainly not one that has been unpopular for many months, gets everything its as desired.

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

Regrets and Risks

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 after an backlash when comments he'd previously made – including calls for Zionists and police to be killed – resurfaced.

Sir Keir blamed "procedures" for not catching what the activist had said before – a more diplomatic way of saying it wasn't his responsibility.

And he is facing evident political risks as the year gets going. His close relationship with the US president acquires a new jeopardy 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 thought he would be comfortable with these events seems implausible.

Policy Stances and Pressures

He asserted he was a "lifelong advocate of international law" but the public "simply haven't got the entire story at the moment".

Critics demanded criticise the action before we spoke. And the administration is likely to face increased demands to give an clear view in Parliament in the coming days.

There has also always been bubbling tension in the Labour ranks to revisit some of the outcomes of Brexit.

Sir Keir denies he's pursuing that, but his new specific plan to integrate further with the European trading bloc – the vast economic European trading zone – will probably trigger protests that he is going back on his vow never to try to reverse the results that followed Brexit.

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