Keir Starmer says he will still be Prime Minister this time next year

"I will be sitting in this seat by 2027."

Speaking to the BBC, Starmer said: "I was elected in 2024 with a five-year mandate to change the country, and that's what I intend to do, to be faithful to that mandate.

"And I will be judged, and I know I'll be judged, when we get to the next election, on whether I've delivered on the key things that matter most to people."

Sir Keir has faced a difficult year, with poor poll ratings and struggling economic growth.

There have been rumours that he would face a leadership challenge, particularly from the Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham.

In his latest comments, Starmer has addressed how he wants to avoid the same problems as the last government, which saw three different PMs in the space of five years.

"Under the last government, we saw constant chopping and changing of leadership, of teams, it caused utter chaos, utter chaos, and it's amongst the reasons that the Tories were booted out so effectively at the last election," he told the outlet.

"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 kind of chaos.

"I will be sitting in this seat by 2027 and if this long-form interview works, we can try it again in January of next year as well."

Starmer's comments come ahead of the forthcoming May elections in England, Scotland and Wales, which he insists will not be a "referendum" on his government.

It comes as a petition calling for Parliament to be dissolved and a general election to be called immediately reached over 100,000 signatures.

"On July 4 2024, Sir Keir Starmer was elected as Prime Minister. Since then, his Government has introduced measures that were not included in the Labour Party's manifesto," the petition reads.

"We believe we were misled and the obfuscation has only got worse since Starmer took power. It is time for action. We believe the Government has failed to defend our borders from the small boats. We have no confidence in the way this Government has acted. Pensioners and farmers have been directly affected by policies that were not included in Labour's manifesto.

"Our country cannot go on like this. Dissolve Parliament and call a General Election now!"

As the petition has reached over 100,000 signatures, the government will be forced to issue a reply, and consider it for a debate in Parliament.

It follows a similar petition which reached over 1 million signatures calling for an immediate general election.