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"I will remain in this seat by 2027," Starmer remarked, noting that if the conversation proceeded smoothly, he might welcome us into his official residence for a follow-up talk next year.

For a PM, there's never any time off for leaders. Shortly before we sat down, Sir Keir had been on the phone with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and trying to work out precisely had transpired in Venezuela, where his close friend, US President Donald Trump, had just launched a strike against and detained its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

By the time our interview, which was considerably lengthier than normal, had finished, Maduro had been charged in New York.

A Refresh for the New Year

As the new year begins, Starmer seems to have had something of a refresh. Maybe even just a little relaxation with loved ones at Chequers, the prime minister's official country residence.

This seemed to have put him in a more positive mood than at the saggy conclusion of 2025, a awful annus horribilis for him.

But are he and his colleagues kidding themselves if they believe his political fate are about to turn around?

Internal Doubts

The grisly reality for the prime minister is that many of his fellow MPs think he's not very good at his job. Some of them would sooner take a risk and oust him this year.

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

On several occasions he insisted he'd be "assessed at the next election", insisting nobody would strip his term from him – even if the most effective strategy of stopping Nigel Farage and Reform UK getting to No 10 might be for Labour to replace leader.

"This is the battle of our generation and I plan to be at the forefront," he said.

Upcoming Local Votes

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

True – in part. But even though he may be reluctant to acknowledge it, No 10 will be judged by those elections too.

Despite this, Sir Keir stating that there were no circumstances under which he would step down, even if a his MPs contested his leadership for the job, should those elections prove catastrophic for Labour.

Predicting a Turnaround

He attempted to explain his low poll ratings by saying the electorate was reasonably anxious for things to change. He aimed to convince the interviewer, and the nation, that this year would be a change.

The economy would strengthen despite rising unemployment, he claimed, when policies the government implemented during their first rocky year began to take effect.

• He committed to shut asylum hotels before the current deadline of 2029, although he wouldn't put a specific date on that.
• He added too, with the proviso that it wasn't a foregone conclusion, that a peace deal in Ukraine felt closer now than at any time since Russia's full-scale invasion.
• He disclosed for the first time that Western partners were now discussing how to coordinate US and European forces to ensure security for Ukraine – to protect a potential peace.

His core argument is that in 2026 the country will "reach a turning point".

Political Challenges

The PM may have communicated with more energy than observed from him for a while – calmer, maybe, with more time to talk.

However, in spite of encountering pressure from within his own party for a bolder approach, with increased political direction, more vigour, more pace and more urgency, his arguments were repeated ones.

When he finds himself in such significant political peril, should he consider a different script?

No government, and especially not one that has been unpopular 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 colleagues have made mistakes, including in the last few weeks.

Controversies and Dangers

The prime minister admitted that he was sorry for saying he was "delighted" to welcome back the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK following an controversy when comments he'd previously made – including calls for Zionists and police to be killed – resurfaced.

Starmer blamed "procedures" for failing to identify what the activist had said before – a more diplomatic way of saying it wasn't his responsibility.

And he is facing evident political risks as the year progresses. His alliance with the US president acquires a new jeopardy after Trump's military action on Venezuela.

Based on years of interviewing Sir Keir Starmer, a ex- human rights lawyer who opposed the war in Iraq, over a long period, the thought he would be comfortable with this kind of intervention seems implausible.

International Law and Brexit

He told me he was a "longtime advocate of international law" but we "simply do not have the complete details at the moment".

Opponents wanted him to denounce it prior to we spoke. And the government is expected to face increased demands to give an explicit view in Parliament in the coming days.

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

The PM rejects he's pursuing that, but his new firmer pledge to integrate further with the European trading bloc – the huge economic European trading zone – will likely provoke accusations that he is reneging on his pledge never to try to reverse the results that stemmed from Brexit.

A decision to align with more of the single market will please a faction on his backbenches, but it is simple material for Reform and the Conservatives to