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"I will remain in the same position by 2027," Sir Keir Starmer remarked, noting that if the conversation proceeded smoothly, he might welcome us into his official residence for a follow-up conversation in the coming year.

For a PM, there's never any downtime for those in the top job. Shortly before the interview began, Starmer had been on the phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and attempting to decipher precisely had happened in Venezuela, where his close political chum, US President Donald Trump, had just launched a strike against and detained its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

Once our lengthy talk, which was far more extended than normal, had finished, Maduro had been formally accused in New York.

Renewed Energy for the New Year

With the year commences, the Prime Minister appears to have had a kind of a refresh. Maybe even just a little relaxation with the family at Chequers, the prime minister's official country residence.

This appeared to have put him in a more positive mood than at the difficult tail end of 2025, a terrible political year for him.

But are he and his supporters kidding themselves if they believe his fortunes are poised to turn around?

Party Concerns

The grisly reality for the PM is that many of his fellow MPs believe he's underperforming at his job. Several of them would sooner gamble and oust him sooner rather than later.

But Sir Keir was dismissing such talk during our conversation on Saturday morning.

Repeatedly he told me he'd be "assessed at the next election", insisting nobody would strip his five-year mandate from him – despite the fact that the best chance of preventing Nigel Farage and Reform UK reaching No 10 might be for Labour to replace leader.

"This is the battle of our times and I intend to guide the party," he affirmed.

The May Elections

The issue for the PM is that he will be scrutinised far sooner than then – in a mega set of elections in May throughout the UK. He attempted to protest, perhaps excessively, that they are about who runs local authorities, and who runs the devolved administrations in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not a verdict on Westminster.

Accurate – up to a point. But even though he may not want to admit it, No 10 will be evaluated by those elections too.

This did not stop Sir Keir suggesting that there were no circumstances under which he would resign, even if one of his MPs contested his leadership for the job, should those elections be very poor for Labour.

An Optimistic Outlook

He attempted to explain his unpopularity by saying the voters was understandably anxious for things to change. He tried to assure me, and the public, that the coming months would be distinct.

The economic situation would recover notwithstanding rising unemployment, he claimed, when strategies the administration implemented during their initial turbulent year began to take effect.

• He vowed to shut asylum hotels before the current target date of 2029, although he wouldn't set a new date on that.
• He noted too, with the qualification that it wasn't a certainty, that a peace deal in Ukraine felt more likely now than at any point since Russia's comprehensive invasion.
• He revealed for the first time 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 big message is that in 2026 the country will "reach a turning point".

Political Challenges

The PM may have spoken with more energy than observed from him for a some time – less tense, maybe, with a longer slot to talk.

However, in spite of encountering calls from various quarters for a more decisive strategy, with greater political clarity, more vigour, more speed and more urgency, his arguments were familiar ones.

Given that he is in considerable political difficulty, does he need a change of tack?

No administration, and certainly not one that has been unpopular for many months, gets everything its own way.

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

Controversies and Dangers

The PM told me 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 outcry when comments 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 catching what the activist had said before – a fancier way of saying it wasn't his responsibility.

And he is facing obvious political dangers as the year progresses. His alliance with the US president acquires a new risk 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 thought he would be content with such action seems unlikely.

International Law and Brexit

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

Some called for him to denounce it prior to the interview. And the government is expected to face further scrutiny to give an definitive view in Parliament in the coming days.

There has also consistently been simmering pressure in the Labour party to undo or remake some of the results of Brexit.

The PM denies he's doing that, but his new more concrete plan to move closer with the European trading bloc – the huge economic European market – will probably trigger protests that he is reneging on his pledge never to try to undo the decisions that stemmed from Brexit.

A move to align with more of the single market will satisfy many on his backbenches, but it is easy fodder for Reform and the Conservatives to