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"I'll be positioned in this position by 2027," Starmer remarked, joking that if our interview proceeded smoothly, he might invite the interviewer into Downing Street for another conversation in the coming year.

There is never truly downtime for those in the top job. Shortly before we sat down, Starmer had been in calls with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and working to decipher what on earth had transpired in Venezuela, where his big friend, US President Donald Trump, had just targeted and seized its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

By the time 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 seems to have had a degree of a reboot. Perhaps even just some relaxation 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 sluggish conclusion of 2025, a terrible political year for him.

Yet, are he and his allies being unrealistic if they reckon his political fate are poised to improve?

Leadership Questions

The harsh truth for the PM is that a significant number of his fellow MPs believe he's underperforming at his job. Several of them would rather gamble and oust him sooner rather than later.

However Starmer was dismissing such talk in the interview on Saturday morning.

On several occasions he insisted he'd be "judged at the next election", arguing no one would strip his term from him – despite the fact that the best chance of preventing Nigel Farage and Reform UK reaching No 10 might be for Labour to change its leader.

"This is the struggle of our generation and I intend to be at the forefront," he declared.

Upcoming Local Votes

The issue for the prime minister is that he will be scrutinised well ahead of then – in a major set of elections in May across the UK. He attempted to argue, maybe 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 – to some extent. But even though he may be reluctant to admit it, No 10 will be judged by those elections too.

This did not stop Sir Keir stating that there were no scenario under which he would walk away, even if one of his MPs challenged him for the job, should those elections be disastrous for Labour.

An Optimistic Outlook

He attempted to rationalise his low poll ratings by saying the electorate was understandably eager for things to improve. He aimed to convince the interviewer, and the nation, that this year would be different.

The economic situation would recover in the face of rising unemployment, he argued, when policies the administration enacted during their first turbulent year began to take effect.

• He committed to empty asylum hotels before the current target date of 2029, although he wouldn't set a new date on that.
• He added too, with the caveat that it wasn't a done deal, that a settlement in Ukraine felt a greater possibility now than at any time since Russia's comprehensive invasion.
• He stated for the first time that Western allies were now discussing how to combine US and European forces to provide security for Ukraine – to safeguard a possible peace.

His big argument is that this year the country will "turn the corner".

Political Challenges

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

But despite facing pressure from many directions for a more decisive approach, with greater political clarity, more vigour, more speed and more immediacy, his arguments were familiar ones.

Given that he is in considerable political difficulty, should he consider a new narrative?

No government, and certainly not one that has been struggling in the polls for many months, has everything its as desired.

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

Controversies and Dangers

The PM told me that he was sorry for saying he was "delighted" to see the return of the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK following an controversy when past remarks he'd made in the past – such as calls for Zionists and police to be killed – resurfaced.

Starmer attributed it to "the system" for not realising what the activist had said before – a fancier way of saying it wasn't his responsibility.

And he is inviting clear political dangers as the year progresses. His alliance with the US president takes on a new jeopardy after Trump's military action 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 implausible.

Policy Stances and Pressures

He told me he was a "career-long champion of international law" but the public "just lack the full picture at the moment".

Some called for him to denounce it before we spoke. And the government is expected to face more pressure to give an clear view in Parliament in the next few days.

There has also long been growing tension in the Labour party to revisit some of the results of Brexit.

Sir Keir disputes he's pursuing that, but his new specific pledge to align more closely with the EU's single market – the vast economic European trading zone – will probably provoke accusations that he is going back on his vow never to try to undo the choices that followed Brexit.

A decision to align with 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