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"I will be positioned in the same position by 2027," Starmer stated, adding that if our conversation was successful, he might invite us into Downing Street for another talk in the coming year.

There is rarely ever break for those in the top job. Shortly before we sat down, Sir Keir had been speaking with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and attempting to work out exactly what had occurred in Venezuela, where his key friend, US President Donald Trump, had recently targeted and seized its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

Once our lengthy talk, which was considerably lengthier than normal, had ended, Maduro had been charged in New York.

A Refresh for the New Year

As the new year begins, Starmer seems to have had a degree of a reboot. Maybe even just a little a rest with the family at Chequers, the prime minister's official country residence.

This seemed to have put him in better spirits than at the sluggish tail end of 2025, a dreadful annus horribilis for him.

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

Internal Doubts

The harsh reality for the PM is that a significant number of his fellow MPs are convinced he's ineffective at his job. Several of them would sooner take a risk and remove him in 2026.

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

On several occasions he stated he'd be "evaluated at the general election", arguing no one would take his term from him – despite the fact that the best chance of halting 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 be at the forefront," he declared.

The Spring Test

The issue for the prime minister is that he will be assessed long before then – in a huge set of elections in May across the UK. He attempted to protest, maybe excessively, that they are about who runs local authorities, and who runs the devolved administrations in Holyrood or Cardiff – and unrelated to Westminster.

True – in part. But although he may not want to acknowledge it, No 10 will be held accountable by those elections too.

This did not stop Sir Keir suggesting that there were no situation under which he would resign, should a his MPs ran against him for the job, should those elections prove very poor for Labour.

Predicting a Turnaround

He tried to account for his unpopularity by saying the voters was understandably eager for things to get better. He tried to assure me, and the nation, that the coming months would be distinct.

The economic situation would recover despite rising unemployment, he claimed, when policies the government put in place during their first rocky year began to show results.

• He vowed to shut asylum hotels before the current deadline of 2029, although he wouldn't set a new date on that.
• He noted too, with the caveat that it wasn't a done deal, that a peace agreement in Ukraine felt more likely now than at any time since Russia's major invasion.
• He disclosed for the first occasion that Western allies were now discussing how to coordinate US and European forces to offer security for Ukraine – to protect a potential peace.

His core message is that in 2026 the country will "turn the corner".

Political Challenges

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

However, in spite of facing demands from many directions for a bolder strategy, with increased political vision, more vigour, more pace and more immediacy, his points were repeated ones.

When he finds himself in considerable political peril, should he consider 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 challenges are not just because government is difficult, but because he and his team have faltered, including in the last few weeks.

Regrets and Risks

The prime minister admitted that he regretted saying he was "pleased" 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 – resurfaced.

Starmer attributed it to "the process" for not catching what the activist had said before – a more diplomatic way of saying it wasn't his responsibility.

And he is courting obvious political dangers as the year unfolds. His close relationship with the US president acquires a new risk after Trump's intervention on Venezuela.

Having interviewed Sir Keir Starmer, a former human rights lawyer who was against the war in Iraq, over his career, the notion he would be at ease with these events seems far-fetched.

Policy Stances and Pressures

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

Opponents wanted him to condemn it prior to the interview. And the administration is expected to face increased demands to give an definitive view in Parliament in the next few days.

There has also consistently been growing desire in the Labour ranks to revisit some of the outcomes of Brexit.

Sir Keir denies he's heading in that direction, but his new more concrete plan to move closer with the single market – the giant economic European trading zone – will probably trigger howls that he is breaking his vow never to try to overturn the choices that followed Brexit.

A decision to cosy up to more of the single market will satisfy many on his backbenches, but it is easy fodder for Reform and the Conservatives to