🔗 Share this article

"I'll remain in the same position by 2027," Starmer remarked, noting that if the interview proceeded smoothly, he might welcome us into Number 10 for a follow-up talk in 2026.

There is never truly downtime for those in the top job. Shortly before we sat down, the PM had been on the phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and attempting to work out what on earth had occurred in Venezuela, where his key friend, US President Donald Trump, had recently targeted and seized its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

When our interview, which was far more extended than typical, had finished, Maduro had been charged in New York.

Renewed Energy for the New Year

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

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

Yet, are he and his colleagues kidding themselves if they believe his standing are about to get better?

Party Concerns

The harsh truth for the prime minister is that many of his colleagues think he's ineffective at his job. A faction of them would rather gamble and get him out sooner rather than later.

But Starmer was dismissing such talk when we spoke on Saturday morning.

Multiple times he stated he'd be "judged at the poll", maintaining nobody would remove his five-year mandate from him – even if the most effective strategy of halting Nigel Farage and Reform UK entering No 10 might be for Labour to replace its leader.

"This is the fight of our lifetime and I intend to lead us," he affirmed.

Upcoming Local Votes

The problem for the prime minister is that he will be assessed well ahead of then – in a mega set of elections in May across the UK. He tried to contend, maybe excessively, that they are about who runs local authorities, and who runs the governments in Holyrood or Cardiff – and unrelated to Westminster.

Accurate – to some extent. But although he may not want to concede it, No 10 will be held accountable by those elections too.

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

Predicting a Turnaround

He attempted to account for his low poll ratings by saying the public was understandably eager for things to improve. He sought to convince the interviewer, and the nation, that the coming months would be a change.

The economy would recover notwithstanding rising unemployment, he said, when plans the government put in place during their first turbulent year began to bear fruit.

• He pledged to shut asylum hotels ahead of the current target date of 2029, but he did not set a new date on that.
• He noted too, with the proviso that it wasn't a done deal, that a settlement in Ukraine felt a greater possibility now than at any time since Russia's major invasion.
• He disclosed for the first occasion that Western partners were now considering how to coordinate US and European forces to offer security for Ukraine – to guard a potential peace.

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

Political Challenges

The prime minister 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 encountering pressure from various quarters for a more decisive approach, with greater political direction, more dynamism, more pace and more urgency, his explanations were familiar ones.

When he finds himself in considerable political difficulty, should he consider a different script?

No administration, and certainly not one that has been struggling in the polls for an extended period, gets everything its own way.

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

Controversies and Dangers

The prime minister expressed regret that he regretted saying he was "pleased" to see the return of the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK after an outcry when comments he'd previously made – including calls for Zionists and police to be killed – came to light.

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

And he is facing obvious political perils as the year gets going. His close relationship with the US president takes on a new complication after Trump's military action on Venezuela.

Having interviewed Sir Keir Starmer, a former human rights lawyer who opposed the war in Iraq, over many years, the idea he would be at ease with these events seems unlikely.

Policy Stances and Pressures

He stated he was a "career-long advocate of international law" but we "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 increased demands to give an clear view in Parliament in the coming days.

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

Sir Keir disputes he's pursuing that, but his new firmer commitment to integrate further with the European trading bloc – the giant economic European market – will probably provoke protests that he is going back on his promise never to try to overturn the results that flowed from Brexit.

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