Several in Labour Desire Starmer Out. The Prime Minister Tells Me He Will Endure – and the Economy Is Set to Improve.

"I'll remain in this position by 2027," the Prime Minister declared, joking that if the interview proceeded smoothly, he might invite us into Downing Street for another talk in the coming year.

For a PM, there's never truly time off for those in the top job. Just an hour before the interview began, Starmer had been on the phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and attempting to work out precisely had transpired in Venezuela, where his key friend, US President Donald Trump, had just attacked and captured its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

When our interview, which was considerably lengthier than usual, had finished, Maduro had been formally accused in New York.

A Reboot for the New Year

But as the year starts, Sir Keir appears to have had something of a reboot. Perhaps even just some downtime with his family at Chequers, the prime minister's rural getaway.

That certainly seemed to have resulted in better spirits than at the saggy end of 2025, a terrible annus horribilis for him.

Yet, are he and his supporters being unrealistic if they believe his political fate are set to get better?

Internal Doubts

The uncomfortable reality for the leader is that a significant number of his party members believe he's ineffective at his job. Some of them would sooner take a risk and get him out this year.

However Sir Keir was dismissing such talk during our conversation on Saturday morning.

On several occasions he stated he'd be "judged at the general election", arguing nobody would remove his five-year mandate from him – despite the fact that the most effective strategy of stopping Nigel Farage and Reform UK reaching No 10 may be for Labour to switch leader.

"We are in the struggle of our times and I aim to lead us," he said.

The May Elections

The issue for the prime minister is that he will be scrutinised far sooner than then – in a major set of elections in May throughout the UK. He attempted to argue, maybe excessively, that they are concerning who runs councils, and who runs the devolved administrations in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not about Westminster.

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

Despite this, Sir Keir stating that there were no situation under which he would resign, should a his MPs contested his leadership for the job, if those elections be very poor for Labour.

Predicting a Turnaround

He attempted to rationalise his unpopularity by saying the electorate was understandably anxious for things to change. He aimed to convince me, and the nation, that 2026 would be a change.

The economic situation would strengthen despite rising unemployment, he said, when strategies the government put in place during their initial turbulent year began to bear fruit.

• He vowed to empty asylum hotels before the current target date of 2029, but he wouldn't put a new date on that.
• He noted too, with the proviso that it was not a certainty, that a peace agreement in Ukraine felt more likely now than at any point since Russia's comprehensive invasion.
• He stated for the first time that Western partners were now talking about how to integrate US and European forces to offer security for Ukraine – to protect a possible peace.

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

A Consistent Script

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

However, in spite of facing calls from within his own party for a more decisive strategy, with greater political direction, more urgency, more speed and more immediacy, his points were familiar ones.

When he finds himself in this much political peril, should he consider a different script?

No administration, and certainly not one that has been struggling in the polls for an extended period, has everything its as planned.

The Prime Minister's problems are not just because government is difficult, but because he and his team have made mistakes, including in the recent past.

Regrets and Risks

The PM admitted that he was sorry for saying he was "delighted" to welcome back the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK following an outcry when statements he'd previously made – such as 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 not my fault.

And he is courting evident political dangers as the year gets going. His close relationship with the US president entails a new risk after Trump's strikes on Venezuela.

Based on years of interviewing Sir Keir Starmer, a ex- human rights lawyer who opposed the war in Iraq, over many years, the thought he would be comfortable with such action seems implausible.

International Law and Brexit

He stated he was a "career-long proponent of international law" but the public "just lack the complete details at the moment".

Critics demanded denounce it before the interview. And the government is expected to face increased demands to give an clear view in Parliament in the near future.

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

The PM denies he's heading in that direction, but his new specific plan to integrate further with the European trading bloc – the vast economic European market – will probably provoke protests that he is going back on his vow never to try to reverse the choices that flowed from Brexit.

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