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"I'll be positioned in the same position by 2027," the Prime Minister stated, joking that if our interview proceeded smoothly, he might invite us into Downing Street for a follow-up chat in 2026.

There is never any time off for those in the top job. Shortly before our chat started, the PM had been speaking with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and working to understand exactly what had transpired in Venezuela, where his close friend, US President Donald Trump, had recently attacked and captured its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

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

A Refresh for the New Year

As the year starts, the Prime Minister appears to have had something of a refresh. Perhaps even just some relaxation with the family at Chequers, the prime minister's official country residence.

This seemed to have resulted in better spirits than at the sluggish end of 2025, a dreadful annus horribilis for him.

But are he and his allies being unrealistic if they reckon his standing are poised to get better?

Leadership Questions

The uncomfortable reality for the PM is that a significant number of his colleagues are convinced he's ineffective at his job. A faction of them would sooner gamble and remove him sooner rather than later.

However Starmer was dismissing such talk in the interview on Saturday morning.

Repeatedly he insisted he'd be "judged at the general election", arguing no one would remove his electoral mandate from him – even if the most effective strategy of halting Nigel Farage and Reform UK getting to No 10 could be for Labour to replace its leader.

"We are in the battle of our generation and I aim to guide the party," he said.

The Spring Test

The problem for the prime minister is that he will be scrutinised long before then – in a mega set of elections in May across the UK. He sought to protest, maybe excessively, that they are about who runs councils, and who runs the devolved administrations in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not about Westminster.

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

This did not stop Sir Keir implying that there were no scenario under which he would resign, even if one of his colleagues challenged him for the job, if those elections be disastrous for Labour.

An Optimistic Outlook

He tried to account for his unpopularity by saying the public was reasonably impatient for things to improve. He sought to assure the interviewer, and the nation, that this year would be distinct.

The economic situation would improve despite rising unemployment, he said, when policies the government enacted during their initial choppy year began to bear fruit.

• He vowed to close asylum hotels before the current target date of 2029, although he did not put a specific date on that.
• He added too, with the qualification that it was not a foregone conclusion, that a peace deal in Ukraine felt more likely now than at any point since Russia's full-scale invasion.
• He disclosed for the first occasion that Western allies were now discussing how to integrate US and European forces to provide security for Ukraine – to protect a potential peace.

His big argument is that in 2026 the country will "see an improvement".

A Consistent Script

The prime minister may have communicated with more energy than observed from him for a while – less tense, maybe, with a longer slot to talk.

But despite facing demands from many directions for a more decisive approach, with greater political clarity, more dynamism, more speed and more urgency, his points were familiar ones.

Given that he is in this much political difficulty, should he consider a change of tack?

No government, and certainly not one that has been unpopular for an extended period, gets everything its as desired.

Sir Keir's problems are not just because government is challenging, but because he and his colleagues have made mistakes, even in the last few weeks.

Regrets and Risks

The prime minister expressed regret that he was sorry for saying he was "delighted" to see the return of the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK following an controversy when statements he'd made in the past – such as calls for Zionists and police to be killed – came to light.

Starmer blamed "the system" for not realising what the activist had said before – a fancier way of saying it wasn't his responsibility.

And he is inviting obvious political perils as the year progresses. His alliance with the US president acquires a new complication after Trump's intervention on Venezuela.

Having interviewed Sir Keir Starmer, a ex- human rights lawyer who was against the war in Iraq, over many years, the idea he would be comfortable with such action seems unlikely.

Policy Stances and Pressures

He stated he was a "career-long advocate of international law" but the public "simply lack the full picture at the moment".

Opponents demanded denounce it prior to the interview. And the administration is likely to face increased demands to give an definitive view in Parliament in the next few days.

There has also long been simmering desire in the Labour ranks to reverse or renegotiate some of the outcomes of Brexit.

The PM denies he's doing that, but his new more concrete pledge to move closer with the single market – the vast economic European market – will probably trigger accusations that he is going back on his pledge never to try to overturn the results that followed Brexit.

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