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"I will be positioned in this position by 2027," Starmer remarked, adding that if the discussion proceeded smoothly, he might invite us into Downing Street for a follow-up chat next year.

There is rarely ever break for leaders. Just an hour before our chat started, Sir Keir had been in calls with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and working to understand exactly what had transpired in Venezuela, where his big ally, US President Donald Trump, had just attacked and captured its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

Once our lengthy talk, which was much longer than usual, had ended, Maduro had been formally accused in New York.

Renewed Energy for the New Year

But as the year commences, the Prime Minister seems to have had a degree of a refresh. Maybe even just some downtime with loved ones at Chequers, the prime minister's country retreat.

That certainly appeared to have left him in a more positive mood than at the sluggish conclusion of 2025, a dreadful year politically for him.

Yet, are he and his allies kidding themselves if they think his political fate are set to improve?

Leadership Questions

The grisly truth for the prime minister is that numerous of his colleagues are convinced he's underperforming at his job. Some of them would sooner take a risk and oust him in 2026.

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

Multiple times he stated he'd be "assessed at the poll", arguing nobody would remove his five-year mandate from him – despite the fact that the most effective strategy of halting Nigel Farage and Reform UK reaching No 10 may be for Labour to switch its leader.

"We are in the battle of our lifetime and I plan to be at the forefront," he affirmed.

The May Elections

The challenge for the PM is that he will be judged well ahead of then – in a mega set of elections in May across the UK. He tried to protest, maybe excessively, that they are about who runs local authorities, and who runs the governments in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not a verdict on Westminster.

Accurate – in part. But although he may be reluctant to acknowledge it, No 10 will be evaluated by those elections too.

Despite this, Sir Keir suggesting that there were no scenario under which he would resign, should a his colleagues contested his leadership for the job, should those elections be disastrous for Labour.

Promises of Improvement

He attempted to account for his unpopularity by saying the public was naturally eager for things to get better. He aimed to assure the interviewer, and the nation, that 2026 would be distinct.

The economic situation would strengthen notwithstanding rising unemployment, he argued, when policies the government implemented during their initial rocky year began to show results.

• He vowed to close 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 point since Russia's comprehensive invasion.
• He stated for the first occasion that Western partners were now considering how to integrate US and European forces to provide security for Ukraine – to guard a possible peace.

His central message is that in 2026 the country will "reach a turning point".

Familiar Arguments

The prime minister may have spoken with renewed vitality than observed from him for a some time – more relaxed, maybe, with more time to talk.

But despite encountering calls from various quarters for a bolder strategy, with increased political direction, more vigour, more speed and more immediacy, his arguments were familiar ones.

Given that he is in this much political difficulty, does he need a new narrative?

No administration, and especially not one that has been unpopular for an extended period, has everything its own way.

The Prime Minister's challenges are not just because government is challenging, but because he and his team have erred, even in the recent past.

Regrets and Risks

The PM told me that he regretted saying he was "delighted" to see the return of the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK following an backlash when statements he'd made in the past – including calls for Zionists and police to be killed – surfaced.

Starmer attributed it to "procedures" for not realising what the activist had said before – a more diplomatic way of saying not my fault.

And he is courting evident political risks as the year gets going. His friendship with the US president entails a new jeopardy after Trump's intervention on Venezuela.

Having interviewed Sir Keir Starmer, a ex- human rights lawyer who opposed the war in Iraq, over many years, the thought he would be content with these events seems unlikely.

Policy Stances and Pressures

He stated he was a "longtime champion of international law" but we "simply do not have the full picture at the moment".

Opponents demanded condemn it before the interview. And the administration is expected to face increased demands to give an explicit view in Parliament in the coming days.

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

The PM rejects he's pursuing that, but his new more concrete plan to move closer with the EU's single market – the giant economic European trading zone – will probably trigger protests that he is reneging on his vow never to try to undo the choices that stemmed from Brexit.

A commitment to align with more of the single market will delight many on his own side, but it is easy fodder for Reform and the Conservatives to