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"I'll remain in this position by 2027," the Prime Minister declared, adding that if the discussion proceeded smoothly, he might invite us into Downing Street for another talk in 2026.

For a PM, there's never any break for those in the top job. Just an hour before the interview began, Starmer had been on the phone with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and attempting to decipher exactly what had transpired in Venezuela, where his close friend, US President Donald Trump, had just targeted and seized its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

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

Renewed Energy for the New Year

But as the new year begins, Sir Keir seems to have had a degree of a reboot. Maybe even just a little downtime with the family at Chequers, the prime minister's country retreat.

This seemed to have put him in a more positive mood than at the saggy conclusion of 2025, a dreadful year politically for him.

But are he and his supporters kidding themselves if they reckon his political fate are poised to turn around?

Party Concerns

The grisly truth for the PM is that many of his fellow MPs believe he's ineffective at his job. Some of them would rather take a risk and oust him sooner rather than later.

But Sir Keir was having none of it during our conversation on Saturday morning.

On several occasions he told me he'd be "judged at the poll", arguing no one would strip his electoral mandate from him – despite the fact that the most effective strategy of halting Nigel Farage and Reform UK reaching No 10 might be for Labour to switch its leader.

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

Upcoming Local Votes

The issue for the prime minister is that he will be assessed long before then – in a mega set of elections in May throughout the UK. He sought to protest, maybe excessively, that they are about who runs councils, and who runs the devolved administrations in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not about Westminster.

Accurate – in part. 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 scenario under which he would resign, should one of his colleagues contested his leadership for the job, should those elections prove very poor for Labour.

An Optimistic Outlook

He attempted to rationalise his unpopularity by saying the electorate was naturally anxious for things to change. He aimed to persuade the interviewer, and the nation, that this year would be a change.

The economy would recover despite rising unemployment, he argued, when plans the government enacted during their initial turbulent year began to take effect.

• He committed to close asylum hotels before the current target date of 2029, although he did not put a specific date on that.
• He added too, with the proviso that it wasn't a done deal, that a peace agreement in Ukraine felt more likely now than at any time since Russia's full-scale invasion.
• He disclosed for the first time that Western partners were now considering how to combine US and European forces to offer security for Ukraine – to safeguard a possible peace.

His central point is that this year the country will "reach a turning point".

A Consistent Script

The PM may have communicated with more energy than observed from him for a while – more relaxed, perhaps, with a longer slot to talk.

However, in spite of encountering demands from many directions for a bolder strategy, with greater political direction, more dynamism, more pace and more immediacy, his arguments were repeated ones.

When he finds himself in this much political peril, should he consider a new narrative?

No administration, and especially not one that has been unpopular for an extended period, gets everything its as desired.

The Prime Minister's problems are not only because governing is hard, but because he and his colleagues have erred, including in the last few weeks.

Controversies and Dangers

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

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

And he is inviting clear political risks as the year unfolds. His friendship with the US president acquires a new complication after Trump's military action on Venezuela.

Having interviewed Sir Keir Starmer, a ex- human rights lawyer who was against the war in Iraq, over his career, the thought he would be comfortable with these events seems unlikely.

International Law and Brexit

He told me he was a "lifelong advocate of international law" but the public "just lack the complete details at the moment".

Some called for him to condemn it prior to we spoke. And the government is likely to face increased demands to give an clear view in Parliament in the near future.

There has also consistently been bubbling desire in the Labour ranks to reverse or renegotiate some of the results of Brexit.

The PM disputes he's pursuing that, but his new firmer commitment to integrate further with the single market – the huge economic European market – will likely provoke howls that he is breaking his pledge never to try to undo the decisions that followed Brexit.

A decision to cosy up to more of the single market will please a faction on his side of the party, but it is prime ammunition for Reform and the Conservatives to