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"I'll be sitting in this position by 2027," the Prime Minister stated, noting that if our interview proceeded smoothly, he might invite us into his official residence for a follow-up conversation in the coming year.

For a PM, there's rarely ever downtime for leaders. Shortly before we sat down, Starmer had been on the phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and working to decipher what on earth had happened in Venezuela, where his key political chum, US President Donald Trump, had recently targeted and seized its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

Once our lengthy talk, which was considerably lengthier than usual, had concluded, Maduro had been formally accused in New York.

Renewed Energy for the New Year

But as the year commences, the Prime Minister appears to have had a kind of a refresh. Perhaps even just a little a rest with the family at Chequers, the prime minister's country retreat.

That certainly appeared to have left him in better spirits than at the saggy tail end of 2025, a dreadful political year for him.

Yet, are he and his allies kidding themselves if they reckon his fortunes are poised to get better?

Party Concerns

The harsh reality for the prime minister is that a significant number of his party members are convinced he's not very good at his job. Some of them would sooner take a risk and oust him sooner rather than later.

But Sir Keir was dismissing such talk during our conversation on Saturday morning.

On several occasions he stated he'd be "judged at the poll", insisting nobody would strip his electoral mandate from him – despite the fact that the most effective strategy of preventing Nigel Farage and Reform UK entering No 10 might be for Labour to switch leader.

"This is the struggle of our times and I plan to guide the party," he said.

Upcoming Local Votes

The problem for the prime minister is that he will be scrutinised far sooner than then – in a major set of elections in May throughout the UK. He sought to argue, maybe excessively, that they are concerning who runs local authorities, and who runs the governments in Holyrood or Cardiff – and unrelated to Westminster.

True – in part. But even though he may not want to admit it, No 10 will be evaluated by those elections too.

Despite this, Sir Keir implying that there were no scenario under which he would step down, should a his MPs contested his leadership for the job, should those elections be very poor for Labour.

An Optimistic Outlook

He attempted to rationalise his low poll ratings by saying the public was reasonably eager for things to get better. He sought to convince me, and the nation, that 2026 would be a change.

The economy would improve notwithstanding rising unemployment, he argued, when policies the government put in place during their first choppy year began to bear fruit.

• He pledged to empty asylum hotels before the current deadline of 2029, but he did not set a new date on that.
• He said too, with the proviso that it wasn't a certainty, that a settlement in Ukraine felt closer now than at any time since Russia's major invasion.
• He disclosed for the first time that Western partners were now discussing how to coordinate US and European forces to ensure security for Ukraine – to guard a potential peace.

His core argument is that in 2026 the country will "reach a turning point".

Familiar Arguments

The prime minister may have spoken with more energy than I've seen from him for a while – calmer, maybe, with more time to talk.

But despite facing calls from various quarters for a more decisive strategy, with greater political clarity, more dynamism, more pace and more urgency, his explanations were repeated ones.

Given that he is in such significant political peril, should he consider a different script?

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

Sir Keir's problems are not just because governing is challenging, but because he and his team have made mistakes, including in the last few weeks.

Controversies and Dangers

The prime minister admitted that he was sorry for saying he was "delighted" to welcome back the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK following an backlash when past remarks he'd previously made – such as calls for Zionists and police to be killed – surfaced.

Sir Keir blamed "the system" for not catching what the activist had said before – a fancier way of saying it wasn't his responsibility.

And he is courting evident political risks as the year gets going. His friendship with the US president acquires a new jeopardy after Trump's intervention on Venezuela.

Based on years of interviewing Sir Keir Starmer, a ex- human rights lawyer who opposed the war in Iraq, over his career, the thought he would be content with such action seems unlikely.

International Law and Brexit

He asserted he was a "longtime proponent of international law" but we "simply lack the full picture at the moment".

Opponents demanded denounce it prior to we spoke. And the government is likely to face increased demands to give an clear view in Parliament in the next few days.

And there has consistently been simmering desire in the Labour party to revisit some of the consequences of Brexit.

Sir Keir denies he's doing that, but his new more concrete plan to align more closely with the EU's single market – the giant economic European trading zone – will likely provoke protests that he is going back on his promise never to try to overturn the results that stemmed from Brexit.

A decision to integrate into more of the single market will please some on his own side, but it is easy fodder for Reform and the Conservatives to