A Number of within Labour Want Starmer Out. He Tells Me He'll Remain – while Britain's Economy Is Set to Improve.

"I'll remain in the same position by 2027," the Prime Minister remarked, adding that if the discussion went well, he might welcome the interviewer into Number 10 for a follow-up conversation next year.

For a PM, there's rarely ever time off for prime ministers. In the hour before we sat down, the PM had been on the phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and trying to work out precisely had happened in Venezuela, where his big ally, US President Donald Trump, had recently attacked and captured its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

When our interview, which was much longer than usual, had finished, Maduro had been charged in New York.

A Reboot for the New Year

But as the year starts, Starmer appears to have had something of a refresh. Perhaps even just a bit of a rest with the family at Chequers, the prime minister's rural getaway.

That certainly seemed to have resulted in a more positive mood than at the sluggish end of 2025, a terrible year politically for him.

But are he and his colleagues being unrealistic if they think his fortunes are set to improve?

Internal Doubts

The harsh truth for the prime minister is that a significant number of his party members think he's not very good at his job. Some of them would rather gamble and oust him in 2026.

But Starmer was rejecting the idea in the interview on Saturday morning.

On several occasions he insisted he'd be "evaluated at the poll", arguing nobody would take his five-year mandate from him – despite the fact that the best chance of halting Nigel Farage and Reform UK reaching No 10 may be for Labour to replace leader.

"This is the battle of our lifetime and I plan to be at the forefront," he affirmed.

The May Elections

The problem for the prime minister is that he will be scrutinised far sooner than then – in a major set of elections in May across the UK. He attempted to protest, maybe too much, that they are concerning who runs local authorities, and who runs the governments in Holyrood or Cardiff – and unrelated to Westminster.

Accurate – up to a point. But even though he may not want to acknowledge it, No 10 will be evaluated by those elections too.

Despite this, Sir Keir implying that there were no scenario under which he would resign, even if a his MPs challenged him for the job, if those elections prove catastrophic for Labour.

An Optimistic Outlook

He attempted to account for his unpopularity by saying the electorate was naturally anxious for things to improve. He aimed to assure me, and the public, that 2026 would be distinct.

The economic situation would improve despite rising unemployment, he claimed, when plans the administration enacted during their initial rocky year began to take effect.

• He committed to empty asylum hotels ahead of the current target date of 2029, although he did not set a firm date on that.
• He noted too, with the qualification that it wasn't a foregone conclusion, that a peace agreement in Ukraine felt more likely now than at any time since Russia's comprehensive invasion.
• He stated for the first time that Western allies were now considering how to coordinate US and European forces to provide security for Ukraine – to guard a possible peace.

His central message is that in 2026 the country will "see an improvement".

Political Challenges

The prime minister may have communicated with more energy than I've seen from him for a some time – calmer, perhaps, with a longer slot to talk.

However, in spite of encountering pressure from many directions for a bolder approach, with greater political vision, more vigour, more speed and more immediacy, his points were repeated ones.

When he finds himself in considerable political peril, is a different approach required a different script?

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

Sir Keir's challenges are not just because governing is hard, but because he and his team have erred, including in the last few weeks.

Controversies and Dangers

The PM expressed regret that he regretted saying he was "pleased" 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 – such as calls for Zionists and police to be killed – came to light.

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

And he is inviting evident political risks as the year gets going. His friendship with the US president takes on a new risk after Trump's strikes on Venezuela.

Having interviewed Sir Keir Starmer, a ex- human rights lawyer who was against the war in Iraq, over his career, the thought he would be comfortable with such action seems far-fetched.

Policy Stances and Pressures

He told me he was a "career-long proponent of international law" but we "just do not have the full picture at the moment".

Some called for him to condemn it prior to the interview. And the government is expected to face increased demands to give an definitive view in Parliament in the coming days.

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

The PM disputes he's doing that, but his new specific plan to integrate further with the single market – the vast economic European trading zone – will likely trigger protests that he is reneging on his vow never to try to undo the decisions that followed Brexit.

A commitment to cosy up to more of the single market will delight some on his backbenches, but it is prime ammunition for Reform and the Conservatives to