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"I will be positioned in the same position by 2027," Starmer stated, noting that if the conversation went well, he might welcome the interviewer into Number 10 for a follow-up conversation in the coming year.

There is rarely ever break for those in the top job. In the hour before our chat started, the PM had been speaking with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and attempting to understand exactly what had transpired in Venezuela, where his big friend, US President Donald Trump, had just launched a strike against and detained its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

When the discussion, which was far more extended than usual, had ended, Maduro had been charged in New York.

Renewed Energy for the New Year

But as the year starts, Sir Keir seems to have had a degree of a refresh. Perhaps even just a little downtime with loved ones at Chequers, the prime minister's country retreat.

This appeared to have put him in better spirits than at the saggy conclusion of 2025, a terrible annus horribilis for him.

But are he and his allies being unrealistic if they believe his political fate are about to improve?

Leadership Questions

The grisly reality for the PM is that a significant number of his colleagues believe he's not very good at his job. A faction of them would rather take a risk and oust him sooner rather than later.

But Sir Keir was rejecting the idea when we spoke on Saturday morning.

On several occasions he told me he'd be "evaluated at the general election", arguing no one would strip his electoral mandate from him – despite the fact that the best chance of preventing Nigel Farage and Reform UK getting to No 10 might be for Labour to replace its leader.

"We are in the struggle of our lifetime and I aim to be at the forefront," he declared.

Upcoming Local Votes

The issue for the PM is that he will be scrutinised far sooner than then – in a major set of elections in May throughout the UK. He tried to protest, maybe too much, that they are about who runs councils, and who runs the devolved administrations in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not about Westminster.

Accurate – to some extent. But even though he may not want to concede it, No 10 will be evaluated by those elections too.

This did not stop Sir Keir implying that there were no circumstances under which he would step down, even if one of his MPs ran against him for the job, should those elections prove disastrous for Labour.

Predicting a Turnaround

He attempted to account for his low poll ratings by saying the public was understandably anxious for things to improve. He sought to assure the interviewer, and the nation, that 2026 would be distinct.

The economic situation would improve in the face of rising unemployment, he claimed, when plans the administration put in place during their initial rocky year began to bear fruit.

• He vowed to close asylum hotels ahead of the current deadline of 2029, although he did not set a specific date on that.
• He added too, with the proviso that it was not a certainty, that a peace deal in Ukraine felt a greater possibility now than at any time since Russia's major invasion.
• He revealed for the first occasion that Western partners were now considering how to coordinate US and European forces to offer security for Ukraine – to safeguard a potential peace.

His core point is that soon the country will "turn the corner".

A Consistent Script

The prime minister may have communicated with greater vigour than I've seen from him for a some time – calmer, perhaps, with a longer slot to talk.

However, in spite of facing calls from within his own party for a more decisive approach, with increased political clarity, more vigour, more speed and more urgency, his points were repeated ones.

Given that he is in this much political difficulty, does he need a new narrative?

No government, and especially not one that has been struggling in the polls for an extended period, gets everything its own way.

The Prime Minister's challenges are not only because governing is hard, but because he and his team have erred, even in the recent past.

Regrets and Risks

The prime minister admitted that he regretted saying he was "pleased" to see the return of the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK following an outcry when statements he'd made in the past – including calls for Zionists and police to be killed – came to light.

Starmer attributed it to "procedures" for not realising what the activist had said before – a more diplomatic way of saying not my fault.

And he is courting clear political perils as the year progresses. His alliance with the US president takes on a new jeopardy after Trump's military action on Venezuela.

Having interviewed Sir Keir Starmer, a former human rights lawyer who was against the war in Iraq, over many years, the thought he would be at ease with this kind of intervention seems implausible.

International Law and Brexit

He stated he was a "lifelong advocate of international law" but the public "just do not have the entire story at the moment".

Some called for him to criticise the action prior to the interview. And the administration is likely to face more pressure to give an clear view in Parliament in the near future.

And there has consistently been bubbling tension in the Labour ranks to revisit some of the consequences of Brexit.

The PM disputes he's doing that, but his new more concrete pledge to integrate further with the EU's single market – the huge economic European market – will likely provoke accusations that he is breaking his vow never to try to overturn the results that stemmed from Brexit.

A decision to align with more of the single market will satisfy some on his side of the party, but it is prime ammunition for Reform and the Conservatives to