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"I'll remain in the same position by 2027," the Prime Minister declared, noting that if the interview proceeded smoothly, he might invite the interviewer into Downing Street for another chat next year.

There is never any downtime for prime ministers. In the hour before the interview began, Starmer had been in calls with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and working to understand exactly what had transpired in Venezuela, where his key friend, US President Donald Trump, had just attacked and captured its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

By the time our lengthy talk, which was far more extended than typical, had finished, Maduro had been formally accused in New York.

A Refresh for the New Year

With the new year begins, the Prime Minister seems to have had a degree of a revitalisation. Maybe even just a bit of a rest with loved ones at Chequers, the prime minister's country retreat.

This seemed to have left him in a more positive mood than at the saggy end of 2025, a dreadful political year for him.

Yet, are he and his supporters kidding themselves if they reckon his fortunes are about to improve?

Party Concerns

The harsh reality for the leader is that a significant number of his party members believe he's ineffective at his job. Several of them would sooner take a risk and get him out in 2026.

But Sir Keir was dismissing such talk when we spoke on Saturday morning.

On several occasions he insisted he'd be "judged at the next election", arguing no one would take his five-year mandate from him – despite the fact that the best chance of preventing Nigel Farage and Reform UK getting to No 10 could be for Labour to replace its leader.

"This is the fight of our lifetime and I plan to be at the forefront," he affirmed.

The May Elections

The issue for the PM is that he will be judged well ahead of then – in a major set of elections in May across the UK. He sought to contend, maybe too much, that they are about who runs local authorities, and who runs the governments in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not a verdict on Westminster.

True – up to a point. But although 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 situation under which he would walk away, even if a his MPs ran against him for the job, if those elections prove catastrophic for Labour.

An Optimistic Outlook

He tried to explain his low poll ratings by saying the public was understandably anxious for things to improve. He aimed to convince me, and the nation, that the coming months would be a change.

The economic situation would strengthen despite rising unemployment, he claimed, when policies the administration enacted during their initial choppy year began to bear fruit.

• He vowed to empty asylum hotels ahead of the current target date of 2029, although he did not put a new date on that.
• He added too, with the caveat that it was not a foregone conclusion, that a peace agreement in Ukraine felt more likely now than at any point since Russia's major invasion.
• He revealed for the first time that Western partners were now talking about how to integrate US and European forces to ensure security for Ukraine – to safeguard a potential peace.

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

Political Challenges

The prime minister may have communicated with more energy than observed from him for a some time – less tense, maybe, with more time to talk.

But despite encountering calls from various quarters for a more decisive strategy, with increased political vision, more urgency, more speed and more immediacy, his explanations were repeated ones.

When he finds himself in considerable political trouble, does he need a change of tack?

No government, and certainly not one that has been struggling in the polls for many months, has everything its own way.

The Prime Minister's problems are not only because government is difficult, but because he and his colleagues have made mistakes, including in the last few weeks.

Regrets and Risks

The PM expressed regret that he regretted saying he was "pleased" to see the return of the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK after an outcry when statements he'd previously made – including calls for Zionists and police to be killed – surfaced.

Starmer blamed "the system" for failing to identify what the activist had said before – a fancier way of saying not my fault.

And he is facing evident political perils as the year progresses. His alliance with the US president acquires a new complication after Trump's intervention on Venezuela.

Based on years of interviewing Sir Keir Starmer, a ex- human rights lawyer who was against the war in Iraq, over a long period, the idea he would be comfortable with such action seems unlikely.

International Law and Brexit

He told me he was a "lifelong proponent of international law" but we "simply haven't got the complete details at the moment".

Opponents called for him to criticise the action prior to we spoke. And the administration is likely to face further scrutiny to give an clear view in Parliament in the near future.

And there has consistently been simmering desire in the Labour party to reverse or renegotiate some of the results of Brexit.

Sir Keir disputes he's pursuing that, but his new specific plan to move closer with the European trading bloc – the giant economic European trading zone – will likely trigger accusations that he is breaking his promise never to try to undo the choices that stemmed from Brexit.

A move to integrate into more of the single market will please many on his side of the party, but it is prime ammunition for Reform and the Conservatives to