Keir Starmer has told Labour MPs that all his air miles are helping boost living standards in Britain.

Defending himself against charges that he spends too much time on overseas trips, the Prime Minister claimed that his numerous talks with foreign leaders helped deal with the cost-of-living crisis.

He told a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) earlier this week that it was vital he was “in the room” for international talks on trade and defence, which impacted the economy.

Since becoming Prime Minister Sir Keir has been on 40 overseas trips, or more than two each month, and it has become apparent that he is far more comfortable with international diplomacy than dealing with domestic politics.

Many of those visits have been about prolonging the Ukraine war and ramping up military spending.

He told his despondent MPs: “We are moving into a world that is very different to the one most of us grew up in.

“And in a world this volatile — you have to be on the pitch. You have to be in the room to tackle the issues working people care about.

“The cost-of-living crisis will not be solved by isolationism. You cannot deliver peace in Ukraine without being in the room. And you do not secure trade terms for companies like JLR by putting gesture politics first.”

Sir Keir also indicated he was ditching the gloom and adopting a more upbeat approach to Britain’s prospects, a notable vibe shift from a relentlessly pessimistic premier.

He pledged that the country would see “change and renewal” in the course of 2026, which Downing Street strategists have dubbed Labour’s “year of proof.”

“Our country is moving in the right direction,” he claimed. “With each change we make for the better, we show working people something even more important.

“That decline can be reversed. Opportunity and pride can be restored. The future can be better for them and their families. And politics can be a force for good.”

He has already told the Cabinet this year that this new focus would power Labour to a general election victory which presently seems entirely out of reach, with polling placing the party third behind both Reform and the Tories.

Sir Keir may be hoping that his emphasis on global turmoil will give MPs pause before moving to replace him, with a coup anticipated after the local and devolved elections in May.