Keir Starmer vows to ‘stay the course’ in 2026 after Labour leadership speculation in New Year message
Keir Starmer has vowed his government will “stay on track” in 2026 after renewed speculation over his future as Labor leader.
In his New Year message, the Prime Minister acknowledged that life in the UK is harder than it should be for many people, acknowledging that the cost of living crisis has made it harder to eat out, go on holidays or make family moments special.
But he insisted his government would overcome the “decline and division presented by others” and predicted that the UK would “turn the corner” next year and that people would begin to feel a “sense of hope” in the coming months despite a series of negative economic headlines in recent months.
His message comes as his own position is increasingly threatened, with the economy faltering and Labor falling behind Nigel Farage’s UK Reform Party in the polls.
Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, was also recently forced to deny that he had plans to return to Westminster and unseat Sir Keir as Labor leader.
Meanwhile, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood did not rule out a suggestion she wanted to take the top job, seen as an endorsement of him as the next leader, just days after a high-profile event with Sir Tony Blair.
In his address to the country, the Prime Minister noted that the challenges facing his government had “been evolving for decades” and acknowledged that “regeneration is not an overnight job”.
But he insisted: “The choices we make in 2026 will mean more people will start to feel positive change in your bills, your communities and your healthcare.
“But even more people will feel a sense of hope once again, a belief that things can and will be better, a sense that the promise of renewal can become a reality, and my government will make that a reality.”
This will include more police on the streets by March, followed by falling energy bills and a number of new NHS health centers by April. “And with this change, the decline will reverse,” he added.
He said he shared his “frustration with the pace of change” but that “it will be our strength to put our country back on a stable footing.”
“We are getting Britain back on track. By staying on this course, we will defeat the decline and division that others have suggested,” he added. “When Britain turns the corner where our future is now in our control, the real Britain will shine brighter.”
In her New Year message, Ms Badenoch condemned the “politics of complaints”, which she said sent the message to voters that “we are destined to stay the same”.
“Things can change, but you also need to vote for the change you want to see in 2026,” he said. “I’m not giving up on our country. I hope you won’t either.”
Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said his party would start the new year looking for election victories to “prevent Trump’s America from becoming Farage’s Britain”.
In his New Year’s speech to voters, Mr Farage said his party would seek to “fundamentally change the entire system of government in Britain” if it wins the next general election.
Reform took seats from Labor in the House of Commons, winning Runcorn and Helsby by a majority of six votes in a by-election in May this year as the rebel party gained momentum in the opinion polls. However, in a by-election in Caerphilly in October, Plaid Cymru defeated Reform in the Senedd by 3,848 votes.
