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"I'll be positioned in this position by 2027," Starmer stated, noting that if the conversation went well, he might invite us into his official residence for another conversation in the coming year.

For a PM, there's never any time off for leaders. In the hour before the interview began, the PM had been on the phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and attempting to understand precisely had occurred in Venezuela, where his close political chum, US President Donald Trump, had recently targeted and seized its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

By the time our interview, which was much longer than usual, had concluded, Maduro had been formally accused in New York.

Renewed Energy for the New Year

With the new year begins, Sir Keir appears to have had a kind of a reboot. Perhaps even just some relaxation with loved ones at Chequers, the prime minister's rural getaway.

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

Yet, are he and his colleagues being unrealistic if they reckon his fortunes are poised to get better?

Party Concerns

The harsh truth for the prime minister is that many of his fellow MPs are convinced he's not very good at his job. A faction of them would rather take a risk and get him out this year.

But Sir Keir was rejecting the idea during our conversation on Saturday morning.

Repeatedly he told me he'd be "judged at the general election", arguing nobody would strip his five-year mandate from him – despite the fact that the best chance of halting Nigel Farage and Reform UK entering No 10 could be for Labour to replace its leader.

"This is the battle of our times and I aim to lead us," he said.

The May Elections

The problem for the PM is that he will be assessed far sooner than then – in a major set of elections in May across the UK. He attempted to argue, maybe excessively, that they are concerning who runs councils, and who runs the governments in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not about Westminster.

True – up to a point. But even though he may be reluctant to concede it, No 10 will be judged by those elections too.

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

An Optimistic Outlook

He sought to rationalise his unpopularity by saying the electorate was understandably impatient for things to get better. He sought to persuade me, and the public, that 2026 would be a change.

The economy would improve in the face of rising unemployment, he said, when strategies the government enacted during their initial rocky year began to take effect.

• He pledged to close asylum hotels ahead of the current deadline of 2029, but he wouldn't put a specific date on that.
• He added too, with the qualification that it wasn't a done deal, that a peace deal in Ukraine felt closer now than at any point since Russia's full-scale invasion.
• He stated for the first occasion that Western partners were now discussing how to coordinate US and European forces to offer security for Ukraine – to protect a potential peace.

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

A Consistent Script

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

But despite facing demands from various quarters for a more decisive approach, with greater political vision, more vigour, more speed and more immediacy, his explanations were familiar 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 unpopular for many months, gets everything its as planned.

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

Regrets and Risks

The PM admitted that he regretted 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 – came to light.

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

And he is inviting evident political perils as the year unfolds. His friendship with the US president takes on a new risk after Trump's military action on Venezuela.

Having interviewed Sir Keir Starmer, a ex- human rights lawyer who opposed the war in Iraq, over a long period, the idea he would be content with such action seems implausible.

International Law and Brexit

He told me he was a "lifelong champion of international law" but the public "simply do not have the entire story at the moment".

Opponents demanded condemn it prior to the interview. And the administration is expected to face more pressure to give an clear view in Parliament in the coming days.

And there has always been growing desire in the Labour party to revisit some of the consequences of Brexit.

Sir Keir denies he's doing that, but his new more concrete pledge to move closer with the European trading bloc – the vast economic European trading zone – will likely trigger accusations that he is reneging on his pledge never to try to overturn the results that stemmed from Brexit.

A move to cosy up to more of the single market will delight many on his side of the party, but it is simple material for Reform and the Conservatives to