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"I will be positioned in this position by 2027," Sir Keir Starmer stated, joking that if our discussion proceeded smoothly, he might invite us into his official residence for another chat in the coming year.

For a PM, there's never any time off for those in the top job. Shortly before the interview began, Sir Keir had been on the phone with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and attempting to understand precisely had happened in Venezuela, where his close friend, US President Donald Trump, had just targeted and seized its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

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

Renewed Energy for the New Year

With the year starts, the Prime Minister seems to have had something of a refresh. Perhaps even just some downtime with his family at Chequers, the prime minister's country retreat.

This seemed to have resulted in improved morale than at the sluggish tail end of 2025, a terrible year politically for him.

But are he and his colleagues deluding themselves if they reckon his political fate are poised to improve?

Leadership Questions

The grisly reality for the leader is that numerous of his colleagues are convinced he's ineffective at his job. A faction of them would rather gamble and get him out this year.

However Sir Keir was rejecting the idea during our conversation on Saturday morning.

On several occasions he stated he'd be "assessed at the general election", insisting no one would remove his electoral mandate from him – despite the fact that the optimal path of stopping Nigel Farage and Reform UK getting to No 10 might be for Labour to replace leader.

"This is the struggle of our generation and I plan to lead us," he said.

The Spring Test

The issue for the PM is that he will be scrutinised well ahead of then – in a major set of elections in May across the UK. He attempted to argue, perhaps too much, that they are about who runs councils, and who runs the devolved administrations in Holyrood or Cardiff – and unrelated to Westminster.

Accurate – up to a point. But although he may be reluctant to acknowledge it, No 10 will be judged by those elections too.

Despite this, Sir Keir stating that there were no circumstances under which he would resign, should one of his MPs ran against him for the job, should those elections prove very poor for Labour.

Predicting a Turnaround

He tried to explain his unpopularity by saying the voters was understandably anxious for things to get better. He sought to convince me, and the public, that this year would be a change.

The economic situation would improve in the face of rising unemployment, he argued, when policies the government put in place during their initial turbulent year began to bear fruit.

• He committed to close asylum hotels before the current target date of 2029, but he wouldn't put a firm date on that.
• He added too, with the qualification that it wasn't a foregone conclusion, that a peace agreement in Ukraine felt more likely now than at any point since Russia's comprehensive invasion.
• He revealed for the first time that Western allies were now considering how to integrate US and European forces to offer security for Ukraine – to safeguard a potential peace.

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

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 facing demands from many directions for a bolder approach, with greater political direction, more urgency, more speed and more urgency, his arguments were well-known ones.

When he finds himself in such significant political peril, is a different approach required a change of tack?

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

The Prime Minister's problems are not just because governing is difficult, but because he and his colleagues have erred, even in the last few weeks.

Controversies and Dangers

The prime minister told me 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 outcry when statements he'd previously made – including calls for Zionists and police to be killed – surfaced.

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

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

Based on years of interviewing Sir Keir Starmer, a former human rights lawyer who opposed the war in Iraq, over his career, the idea he would be content with these events seems far-fetched.

International Law and Brexit

He stated he was a "longtime champion of international law" but the public "simply lack the full picture at the moment".

Critics called for him to criticise the action prior to we spoke. And the administration is likely to face further scrutiny to give an clear view in Parliament in the next few days.

And there has consistently been growing tension in the Labour ranks to revisit some of the results of Brexit.

Sir Keir denies he's heading in that direction, but his new specific commitment to integrate further with the European trading bloc – the vast economic European trading zone – will probably provoke accusations that he is reneging on his pledge never to try to reverse the choices that stemmed from Brexit.

A decision to align with more of the single market will delight a faction on his backbenches, but it is prime ammunition for Reform and the Conservatives to