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"I'll be sitting in this position by 2027," Starmer stated, joking that if our discussion went well, he might welcome us into Number 10 for another conversation next year.

There is never truly downtime for those in the top job. Shortly before the interview began, Sir Keir had been in calls with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and working to decipher precisely had transpired in Venezuela, where his big political chum, US President Donald Trump, had recently launched a strike against and detained its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

Once our lengthy talk, which was much longer than usual, had concluded, Maduro had been charged in New York.

Renewed Energy for the New Year

As the year commences, Sir Keir seems to have had something of a refresh. Maybe even just some relaxation with the family at Chequers, the prime minister's official country residence.

This appeared to have put him in improved morale than at the difficult conclusion of 2025, a terrible annus horribilis for him.

But are he and his supporters deluding themselves if they believe his fortunes are set to get better?

Leadership Questions

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

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

Repeatedly he stated he'd be "evaluated at the general election", insisting no one would remove his five-year mandate from him – despite the fact that the most effective strategy of preventing Nigel Farage and Reform UK getting to No 10 might be for Labour to switch its leader.

"This is the fight of our generation and I plan to lead us," he affirmed.

The Spring Test

The problem for the prime minister is that he will be assessed well ahead of then – in a mega set of elections in May throughout the UK. He tried to protest, maybe too much, that they are concerning who runs councils, and who runs the governments in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not a verdict on Westminster.

Accurate – in part. But even though he may not want to concede it, No 10 will be judged by those elections too.

This did not stop Sir Keir implying that there were no situation under which he would resign, should a his colleagues challenged him for the job, if those elections prove catastrophic for Labour.

Promises of Improvement

He tried to explain his low poll ratings by saying the public was naturally anxious for things to get better. He sought to assure the interviewer, and the public, that the coming months would be distinct.

The economic situation would strengthen notwithstanding rising unemployment, he said, when plans the administration implemented during their initial choppy year began to take effect.

• He committed to close asylum hotels before the current target date of 2029, but he did not set a firm date on that.
• He noted too, with the caveat that it wasn't a foregone conclusion, that a settlement in Ukraine felt a greater possibility now than at any time since Russia's comprehensive invasion.
• He stated for the first occasion that Western partners were now talking about how to combine US and European forces to offer security for Ukraine – to safeguard a possible peace.

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

Political Challenges

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

But despite facing demands from various quarters for a bolder approach, with much more political vision, more dynamism, more speed and more urgency, his explanations were repeated ones.

Given that he is in considerable political peril, should he consider a change of tack?

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

The Prime Minister's challenges are not just because government is challenging, but because he and his team have erred, including in the recent past.

Controversies and Dangers

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

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

And he is inviting obvious political dangers as the year progresses. His friendship with the US president acquires a new complication after Trump's military action 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 comfortable with such action seems unlikely.

International Law and Brexit

He asserted he was a "career-long proponent of international law" but the public "just do not have the full picture at the moment".

Some wanted him to denounce it prior to we spoke. And the administration is likely to face increased demands to give an clear view in Parliament in the coming days.

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

The PM rejects he's heading in that direction, but his new specific plan to integrate further with the single market – the giant economic European trading zone – will likely provoke howls that he is going back on his promise never to try to overturn the choices that flowed from Brexit.

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