A Number of within the Labour Party Want Starmer Removed. The Prime Minister Assures Me He'll Survive – and the Economy Is Set to Improve.

"I'll remain in this position by 2027," Sir Keir Starmer declared, adding that if the discussion proceeded smoothly, he might invite us into Downing Street for another conversation in the coming year.

For a PM, there's never truly break for those in the top job. Just an hour before our chat started, the PM had been in calls with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and trying to work out precisely had occurred in Venezuela, where his big friend, US President Donald Trump, had just targeted and seized its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

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

Renewed Energy for the New Year

With the new year begins, Starmer appears to have had a degree of a refresh. Perhaps even just a bit of a rest with his family at Chequers, the prime minister's rural getaway.

That certainly appeared to have put him in a more positive mood than at the sluggish conclusion of 2025, a terrible political year for him.

Yet, are he and his supporters kidding themselves if they reckon his fortunes are set to improve?

Party Concerns

The grisly reality for the PM is that many of his party members believe he's underperforming at his job. Some of them would rather take a risk and get him out sooner rather than later.

But Starmer was rejecting the idea when we spoke on Saturday morning.

On several occasions he stated he'd be "assessed at the poll", arguing no one would take his term from him – despite the fact that the optimal path of stopping Nigel Farage and Reform UK getting to No 10 may be for Labour to switch leader.

"This is the struggle of our times and I aim to lead us," he affirmed.

The May Elections

The problem for the PM is that he will be judged well ahead of then – in a huge set of elections in May across the UK. He sought to argue, perhaps too much, that they are concerning who runs local authorities, and who runs the governments in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not a verdict on Westminster.

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

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

Promises of Improvement

He sought to rationalise his unpopularity by saying the electorate was understandably eager for things to get better. He tried to convince the interviewer, and the nation, that this year would be distinct.

The economic situation would improve notwithstanding rising unemployment, he argued, when plans the administration implemented during their initial choppy year began to bear fruit.

• He committed to shut asylum hotels ahead of the current deadline of 2029, although he wouldn't set a firm date on that.
• He said too, with the proviso that it wasn't a foregone conclusion, that a peace agreement in Ukraine felt closer now than at any point since Russia's comprehensive invasion.
• He stated for the first occasion that Western partners were now discussing how to integrate US and European forces to offer security for Ukraine – to guard a potential peace.

His central point is that soon the country will "reach a turning point".

A Consistent Script

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

However, in spite of encountering calls from various quarters for a more decisive approach, with increased political direction, more urgency, more speed and more urgency, his explanations were repeated ones.

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

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

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

Controversies and Dangers

The prime minister 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 controversy when comments he'd made in the past – such as calls for Zionists and police to be killed – came to light.

Starmer attributed it to "the process" for not realising what the activist had said before – a more diplomatic way of saying not my fault.

And he is courting clear political dangers as the year unfolds. His friendship with the US president acquires a new risk after Trump's intervention on Venezuela.

Having interviewed Sir Keir Starmer, a former human rights lawyer who was against the war in Iraq, over his career, the idea he would be content with these events seems far-fetched.

Policy Stances and Pressures

He asserted he was a "career-long advocate of international law" but we "simply haven't got the entire story at the moment".

Opponents wanted him to criticise the action before we spoke. And the administration is likely to face more pressure to give an explicit view in Parliament in the coming days.

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

The PM denies he's pursuing that, but his new specific pledge to integrate further with the EU's single market – the giant economic European market – will probably trigger howls that he is going back on his vow never to try to reverse the choices that followed Brexit.

A decision to cosy up to more of the single market will satisfy many on his backbenches, but it is prime ammunition for Reform and the Conservatives to