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"I'll be positioned in this office by 2027," the Prime Minister remarked, noting that if our conversation proceeded smoothly, he might welcome the interviewer into Downing Street for another talk in 2026.

There is never any time off for prime ministers. Just an hour before the interview began, the PM had been on the phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and trying to understand precisely had happened in Venezuela, where his key political chum, US President Donald Trump, had recently launched a strike against and detained its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

Once the discussion, which was far more extended than typical, had concluded, Maduro had been indicted in New York.

A Refresh for the New Year

With the year starts, the Prime Minister appears to have had something of a revitalisation. Maybe even just some downtime with the family at Chequers, the prime minister's official country residence.

That certainly appeared to have resulted in improved morale than at the sluggish tail end of 2025, a dreadful annus horribilis for him.

But are he and his supporters deluding themselves if they think his standing are set to improve?

Internal Doubts

The harsh truth for the leader is that numerous of his party members believe he's underperforming at his job. Some of them would rather gamble and remove him this year.

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

Repeatedly he told me he'd be "assessed at the general election", maintaining nobody would take his term from him – even if the best chance of halting Nigel Farage and Reform UK getting to No 10 might be for Labour to replace leader.

"This is the struggle of our lifetime and I aim to guide the party," he affirmed.

The May Elections

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

Accurate – up to a point. But although he may not want to admit it, No 10 will be held accountable by those elections too.

Despite this, Sir Keir suggesting that there were no situation under which he would step down, should one of his MPs ran against him for the job, should those elections prove catastrophic for Labour.

An Optimistic Outlook

He attempted to account for his unpopularity by saying the electorate was reasonably impatient for things to get better. He tried to convince the interviewer, and the nation, that this year would be distinct.

The economy would recover notwithstanding rising unemployment, he said, when policies the administration implemented during their first rocky year began to show results.

• He committed to close asylum hotels before the current deadline of 2029, although he did not put a firm date on that.
• He noted too, with the caveat that it wasn't a certainty, that a peace deal in Ukraine felt a greater possibility now than at any time since Russia's full-scale invasion.
• He disclosed for the first occasion that Western allies were now talking about how to coordinate US and European forces to offer security for Ukraine – to guard a possible peace.

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

A Consistent Script

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

However, in spite of encountering demands from many directions for a bolder approach, with greater political clarity, more urgency, more pace and more urgency, his points were repeated ones.

When he finds himself in considerable political peril, should he consider a new narrative?

No government, and certainly not one that has been struggling in the polls for many months, has everything its as desired.

The Prime Minister's problems are not just because governing is challenging, but because he and his colleagues have faltered, including in the recent past.

Controversies and Dangers

The prime minister admitted that he regretted saying he was "pleased" to welcome back the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK after an outcry when past remarks he'd made in the past – including calls for Zionists and police to be killed – surfaced.

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

And he is inviting evident political risks as the year unfolds. His friendship with the US president entails a new jeopardy after Trump's strikes on Venezuela.

Having interviewed Sir Keir Starmer, a former human rights lawyer who opposed the war in Iraq, over a long period, the thought he would be at ease with this kind of intervention seems implausible.

Policy Stances and Pressures

He stated he was a "lifelong proponent of international law" but we "just lack the complete details at the moment".

Critics called for him to condemn it prior to the interview. And the administration is likely to face further scrutiny to give an definitive view in Parliament in the near future.

And there has always been simmering desire in the Labour party to reverse or renegotiate some of the consequences of Brexit.

Sir Keir rejects he's pursuing that, but his new specific commitment to align more closely with the European trading bloc – the huge economic European trading zone – will likely provoke howls that he is reneging on his vow never to try to undo the results that stemmed from Brexit.

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