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"I will be positioned in this office by 2027," the Prime Minister stated, joking that if the interview went well, he might invite us into Downing Street for another chat next year.

There is never truly time off for prime ministers. Just an hour before the interview began, Starmer had been speaking with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and working to work out precisely had transpired in Venezuela, where his big friend, US President Donald Trump, had just attacked and captured its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

When the discussion, which was far more extended than usual, had concluded, Maduro had been formally accused in New York.

A Refresh for the New Year

With the new year begins, Sir Keir appears to have had something of a reboot. Maybe even just a bit of downtime with the family at Chequers, the prime minister's rural getaway.

That certainly seemed to have left him in better spirits than at the difficult end of 2025, a terrible year politically for him.

But are he and his colleagues kidding themselves if they reckon his standing are poised to improve?

Party Concerns

The grisly truth for the PM is that many of his colleagues are convinced he's ineffective 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 general election", arguing no one would take his five-year mandate from him – even if the optimal path of halting Nigel Farage and Reform UK entering No 10 may be for Labour to change leader.

"This is the struggle of our times and I intend to guide the party," he said.

The Spring Test

The problem for the PM is that he will be judged far sooner than then – in a major set of elections in May throughout the UK. He sought to contend, maybe too much, that they are about who runs councils, and who runs the devolved administrations in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not a verdict on Westminster.

True – up to a point. But although he may not want to concede it, No 10 will be evaluated by those elections too.

This did not stop Sir Keir stating that there were no scenario under which he would step down, even if one of his MPs challenged him for the job, should those elections prove very poor for Labour.

Promises of Improvement

He sought to rationalise his low poll ratings by saying the electorate was understandably anxious for things to change. He aimed to persuade the interviewer, and the nation, that the coming months would be a change.

The economic situation would recover despite rising unemployment, he argued, when policies the administration enacted during their initial choppy year began to show results.

• He committed to shut asylum hotels ahead of the current target date of 2029, but he did not set a specific date on that.
• He noted too, with the caveat that it wasn't a certainty, that a peace agreement in Ukraine felt a greater possibility now than at any point since Russia's full-scale invasion.
• He revealed for the first occasion that Western partners were now considering how to combine US and European forces to ensure security for Ukraine – to protect a potential peace.

His core point is that in 2026 the country will "turn the corner".

Familiar Arguments

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

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

Given that he is in such significant political difficulty, does he need a new narrative?

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

Sir Keir's problems are not only because government is difficult, but because he and his colleagues have faltered, including in the last few weeks.

Controversies and Dangers

The prime minister admitted that he regretted saying he was "delighted" to welcome back the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK after an controversy when comments he'd previously made – such as calls for Zionists and police to be killed – resurfaced.

Sir Keir blamed "the process" for not realising what the activist had said before – a more diplomatic way of saying not my fault.

And he is inviting clear political perils as the year gets going. His alliance with the US president takes on a new complication after Trump's intervention on Venezuela.

Based on years of interviewing 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 far-fetched.

Policy Stances and Pressures

He asserted he was a "longtime proponent of international law" but the public "simply do not have the complete details at the moment".

Critics demanded condemn it before the interview. And the government is expected to face more pressure to give an clear view in Parliament in the near future.

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

Sir Keir disputes he's doing that, but his new specific pledge to align more closely with the European trading bloc – the huge economic European market – will likely elicit accusations that he is reneging on his promise never to try to reverse the results that stemmed from Brexit.

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