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"I will be positioned in the same position by 2027," Starmer remarked, noting that if the conversation was successful, he might welcome us into Number 10 for a follow-up talk in 2026.

There is never any time off for prime ministers. Just an hour before the interview began, Starmer had been speaking with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and attempting to decipher exactly what had occurred in Venezuela, where his big political chum, US President Donald Trump, had just launched a strike against and detained its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

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

Renewed Energy for the New Year

But as the new year begins, Starmer seems to have had something of a refresh. Maybe even just some a rest with his family at Chequers, the prime minister's country retreat.

That certainly appeared to have put him in better spirits than at the difficult conclusion of 2025, a terrible year politically for him.

But are he and his colleagues being unrealistic if they think his political fate are set to turn around?

Internal Doubts

The harsh truth for the leader is that numerous of his colleagues think he's underperforming at his job. Some of them would sooner gamble and remove him sooner rather than later.

However Starmer was rejecting the idea during our conversation on Saturday morning.

Repeatedly he told me he'd be "evaluated at the next election", insisting no one would take his term from him – despite the fact that the best chance of preventing Nigel Farage and Reform UK getting to No 10 may be for Labour to replace its leader.

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

The May Elections

The challenge for the PM is that he will be judged long before then – in a mega set of elections in May across the UK. He sought to argue, perhaps too much, that they are about who runs councils, and who runs the devolved administrations in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not a verdict on Westminster.

True – in part. But although he may be reluctant to concede it, No 10 will be held accountable by those elections too.

Despite this, Sir Keir stating that there were no circumstances under which he would resign, even if a his colleagues ran against him for the job, if those elections be catastrophic for Labour.

Promises of Improvement

He tried to rationalise his unpopularity by saying the voters was understandably impatient for things to get better. He sought to convince the interviewer, and the nation, that this year would be different.

The economic situation would improve despite rising unemployment, he argued, when strategies the government enacted during their first choppy year began to take effect.

• He pledged to empty asylum hotels ahead of the current target date of 2029, but he did not put a specific date on that.
• He said too, with the proviso that it was not a done deal, that a peace agreement in Ukraine felt more likely now than at any time since Russia's full-scale invasion.
• He stated for the first occasion that Western allies were now discussing how to coordinate US and European forces to ensure security for Ukraine – to safeguard a possible peace.

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

Familiar Arguments

The prime minister may have spoken with greater vigour than observed from him for a while – more relaxed, maybe, with more time to talk.

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

Given that he is in considerable political difficulty, should he consider a different script?

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

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

Regrets and Risks

The prime minister told me 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 past remarks he'd made in the past – including calls for Zionists and police to be killed – came to light.

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

And he is inviting clear political perils as the year unfolds. His close relationship with the US president acquires a new jeopardy after Trump's strikes on Venezuela.

Based on years of interviewing Sir Keir Starmer, a ex- human rights lawyer who was against the war in Iraq, over his career, the idea he would be at ease with such action seems far-fetched.

Policy Stances and Pressures

He told me he was a "longtime proponent of international law" but the public "just do not have the complete details at the moment".

Critics demanded denounce it prior to the interview. And the government is expected to face increased demands to give an definitive view in Parliament in the near future.

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

The PM denies he's doing that, but his new firmer pledge to move closer with the single market – the vast economic European market – will probably trigger howls that he is breaking his promise never to try to reverse the decisions that flowed from Brexit.

A commitment to align with more of the single market will delight many on his backbenches, but it is simple material for Reform and the Conservatives to