Keir Starmer has told UK voters that the coming year will bring “positive change in your bills, your communities and your health service”. People across the country will “once again feel a sense of hope”, the prime minister said in his New Year message.

But a new Ipsos poll offers little evidence of faith in Starmer as the architect of change: fewer than half of those quizzed believed he would still be in No. 10 by the end of 2026.

What did the commentators say?
Pollsters have been “surprised” by the “level of apparent hostility” towards both Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves, said the Financial Times’ political editor George Parker. Yet the PM’s allies believe he can “turn things around”, in part through renewed emphasis on reducing living costs.

There is “near-universal acceptance” among not only Starmer’s “detractors” but also his “cheerleaders” that the government must improve how it explains itself and defines its purpose, said the BBC’s political editor Chris Mason. Downing Street is expected to launch a “blitz of public-facing activity”. But the “key challenge” will be deciding what message they want to put out there, and, crucially, whether the government can stick to it.

Starmer needs to spearhead a “fundamental reset”, said former New Labour advertising guru Chris Powell in The Guardian. In 1995, Tony Blair’s team “planned scrupulously for a complete reorientation” of the party, involving “new strategy, new branding, new policy, new presentation and new organisation”. Starmer needs to embrace that same kind of “no-holds-barred thinking” if he is to “win the daily war for attention”.

What next?
There are “good reasons to believe” Starmer may not last the year, said Patrick Maguire in The Times. But while many Labour MPs are attracted to the idea of a leadership change, there is far less enthusiasm for a full leadership contest. That leaves only the possibility of a “bloodless coup and coronation”. In the absence of any obvious alternative candidate, however, the embattled PM has a decent chance of retaining the top job.

“Inconvenience is the cost of community” has become an online mantra amid debate about the effort required to maintain connections – and whether it’s worth the bother. Arguments are raging about “sacrifice” and “what we actually ‘owe’ each other” as people ponder how often they should put others first, said Maybelle Morgan in Dazed.

‘Protect your peace’
Not long ago, the saying “protect your peace” was rife on social media, said Morgan. The focus was on “stress-free” living and “limiting exposure” to challenging situations. We were encouraged “to say ‘no’ to things, set boundaries, cut off people who ‘trauma-dump’, and religiously practise self-care”. This motto promoted “avoidance rather than tools for healthier connection”, and appears to reflect a wider trend.

A study in the Frontiers in Psychology journal that looked at data from across 166 countries between 2019 and 2024 observed a 6% decline in global emotional intelligence. The modern lifestyle has “optimised away the inconveniences that create interdependence”, leaving some people “incapable of handling difference”, said psychology scholar Andrea Carter on The Conversation. Digital platforms have exacerbated this voluntary segregation. Most of us look at “belief-aligned feeds” that reflect our attitudes, and avoid the “discomfort that growth requires”.

‘Prioritising emotional wellness’
Even close relationships can be affected. In North America, 130 million people say they are estranged from a relative, according to The Harris Poll, which tracks trends in the US.

Dating is also becoming harder, said Hena Bryan in Glamour. Women are “prioritising emotional wellness” and establishing “firm boundaries”. With many men “refusing the emotional work that makes relationships thrive”, women are deciding that “being alone is often safer and more fulfilling than dating someone unwilling – or unable – to meet them halfway”.

But the effort is worth it, according to an 80-year study by Harvard University. The research found that the “quality of our relationships” helps us live “longer, happier” lives, said Morgan in Dazed. Inconvenience is an “investment”, psychotherapist Kamalyn Kaur told the magazine: community “provides the grounding force of being seen, known, and supported” through life’s ups and downs. “There is space in our lives for both self-care and community care.”

A mourner lights a candle near Le Constellation bar, in the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana, where at least 40 people died in a fire on New Year’s Eve. The first victim to be identified was a 17-year-old Italian golfer, Emanuele Galeppini.

Harold Cunningham / Getty Images

A new year means new travels and fresh destinations to explore, from enjoying tortas and tequila in Guadalajara to diving and snorkelling along the Sardinian coast.

Cappadocia
Visitors have long been captivated by the “distinctive” landscape of Turkey’s Cappadocia region, best viewed from one of its “famous hot air balloons”, said The Independent. The “rose-tinted valleys” and craggy ancient rock formations are beautiful, and the wine culture, vibrant dining scene and “wealth of outdoor activities” make it a “destination of a lifetime”.

Mongolia
This East Asian nation is a “rare example” of how a country can “embrace tourism without compromising its identity”, Nomadic Expeditions CEO and founder Jalsa Urubshurow told Travel and Leisure. Visitors are offered authentic experiences including riding reindeer with the Tsaatan people, crossing the Gobi on a camel, and witnessing the speed and agility of Kazakh hunters and their golden eagles.

Guadalajara
The third-largest city in Mexico is the “epicentre” of such cultural highlights as mariachi and torta ahogada, said Condé Nast Traveler. In 2026, Guadalajara will also host an array of “world-class events”, including an international film festival and an international book fair, as well as four FIFA World Cup matches.

Sardinia
A “wild island escape” can be enjoyed on Sardinia, home to “pristine beaches” and “cultural riches” including the massive Bronze Age nuraghi stone structures, said Lonely Planet. Active travellers can go diving, swimming or snorkelling along the coast, and hike the Cammino Minerario di Santa Barbara long-distance trail.

The plot against London
Robert Shrimsley in the Financial Times
London is “one of the world’s great cities”, writes Robert Shrimsley, but “this story does not work for the populist right”, which floods the internet with “tales of a crime-ridden hellhole”. These “relentless, often fake, assaults on the capital” are “having an impact on overseas investment decisions”, according to a government insider. Enough is enough. “It is important not to deny or dismiss London’s problems”, but this “vibrant city” is a “long way from fallen”.

The best way to get round a difficult problem? Do nothing about it
Gaby Hinsliff in The Guardian
“If you really want to solve a problem, try doing nothing about it,” writes Gaby Hinsliff. It’s amazing how a “spell of aimless noodling around frees an otherwise overworked human brain to make the type of lateral mental leap that helps everything fall into place”, as we “divorce the busy conscious mind from some deeper subconscious part”. So “ease yourself gingerly into January” by remembering that “time spent doing what looks like nothing much” can achieve “more than you actually realised”.

Dry January won’t save you
Matt Rowland Hill in The New Statesman
Dry January is “our nation’s secular rite of penitential self-improvement”, writes Matt Rowland Hill. But “drinking less” also tends to mean “socialising less”. Real-life social interaction “involves friction, compromise, possible rejection”, while the more passive experience of social media can make us feel connected “even when we’re alone”. Our smartphone addiction renders us “like alcoholics condemned to carry a hip flask with us everywhere” – and we’ll end up “more solitary, sadder and stupider” than we were last year.