A handout picture released by the BBC, taken on January 3, 2026 and received on January 4, 2026, shows Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaking during an interview with journalist Laura Kuenssberg, broadcast on the BBC's 'Sunday' political television show. Photo by JEFF OVERS / BBC / AFP
London: Keir Starmer insisted in an interview Sunday he will complete his five-year term as UK prime minister amid speculation his centre-left Labour party could oust him after upcoming local elections.
Starmer, who won power in July 2024, also argued Britain should pursue further alignment with the EU single market, saying it was in the country's "national interest" to get "closer" to the bloc.
A decade after Britons voted narrowly to leave the EU, the stance is likely to draw criticism from Brexit advocates like Nigel Farage, whose hard-right Reform UK party has led in the polls for the past year.
The anti-immigration party is predicted to make big gains in local elections in Scotland, Wales and parts of England in May, and is on course to win the next general election due by August 2029.
In a lengthy BBC interview, Starmer warned Britain "will be torn apart in a toxic way" if Reform wins power, as he vowed to lead Labour into "the fight of our times" against Farage's "very right-wing proposition".
"I was elected in 2024 with a five-year mandate to change the country, and that's what I intend to do," he said.
Starmer -- whose popularity has plunged to record lows during his 18-month tenure, according to polls -- argued multiple leadership changes under his predecessor Conservatives caused "utter chaos".
"Nobody wants to go back to that. It's not in our national interest. We know from that evidence what happens if you go down that chaotic path, and I'm not going to take us back to that."
But the British leader endured a torrid 2025, littered with policy U-turns, ministers resigning, and other self-inflicted crises.
Polls indicate Labour will perform poorly in May, prompting widespread speculation Labour MPs will move against him in the aftermath and install a new leader.
Starmer, who has made boosting economic growth his main target, argued achievements since taking office had been largely overlooked and that the UK will "turn a corner" in 2026.
He pointed to improving European Union ties as one of his government's successes, insisting relations "are in the best position they've been for 10 years".
London announced last month it will rejoin the bloc's popular Erasmus student exchange programme almost five years after leaving the scheme post-Brexit.
It has also forged closer ties with Brussels in other ways, including implementing alignment this year of its food and agriculture sectors with the EU single market.
While ruling out rejoining the EU's customs union or returning to freedom of movement, Starmer said Britain should continue to "get closer" to the bloc.
"I think it's in our national interest to go further," he added, noting single market alignment "needs to be considered on an issue-by-issue, sector-by-sector basis".
