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"I will remain in the same position by 2027," the Prime Minister stated, noting that if the interview was successful, he might invite us into Number 10 for another talk next year.

For a PM, there's never truly time off for those in the top job. Shortly before the interview began, Sir Keir had been in calls with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and trying to work out what on earth had transpired in Venezuela, where his key friend, US President Donald Trump, had just launched a strike against and detained its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

When our lengthy talk, 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, Sir Keir seems to have had a degree of a revitalisation. Maybe even just a little relaxation with loved ones at Chequers, the prime minister's rural getaway.

That certainly seemed to have put him in a more positive mood than at the difficult tail end of 2025, a dreadful political year for him.

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

Internal Doubts

The grisly reality for the PM is that numerous of his colleagues believe he's ineffective at his job. Several of them would rather take a risk and remove him this year.

But Sir Keir was dismissing such talk when we spoke on Saturday morning.

On several occasions he stated he'd be "evaluated at the poll", arguing nobody would remove his electoral mandate from him – even if the optimal path of halting Nigel Farage and Reform UK reaching No 10 might be for Labour to change leader.

"We are in the struggle of our lifetime and I aim to guide the party," he said.

The Spring Test

The problem for the PM is that he will be assessed far sooner than then – in a mega set of elections in May throughout the UK. He attempted to contend, maybe too much, that they are about who runs local authorities, and who runs the governments in Holyrood or Cardiff – and unrelated to Westminster.

True – to some extent. But although he may not want to admit it, No 10 will be evaluated by those elections too.

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

Predicting a Turnaround

He sought to explain his unpopularity by saying the public was reasonably impatient for things to improve. He aimed to convince me, and the public, that this year would be distinct.

The economic situation would improve in the face of rising unemployment, he argued, when plans the government implemented during their initial turbulent year began to bear fruit.

• He pledged to empty asylum hotels ahead of the current deadline of 2029, but he did not put a specific date on that.
• He added too, with the proviso that it was not a done deal, that a settlement in Ukraine felt a greater possibility now than at any time since Russia's comprehensive invasion.
• He revealed for the first time that Western partners were now discussing how to combine US and European forces to ensure security for Ukraine – to guard a possible peace.

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

A Consistent Script

The PM may have communicated with more energy than I've seen from him for a some time – calmer, perhaps, with more time to talk.

But despite encountering calls from within his own party for a more decisive strategy, with greater political vision, more urgency, more speed and more urgency, his points were familiar ones.

Given that he is in considerable political trouble, is a different approach required a new narrative?

No government, and certainly not one that has been unpopular for an extended period, gets everything its own way.

Sir Keir's challenges are not just because governing is hard, but because he and his team have made mistakes, even in the recent past.

Regrets and Risks

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 outcry when statements he'd made in the past – such as calls for Zionists and police to be killed – came to light.

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

And he is courting obvious political dangers as the year unfolds. His close relationship 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 many years, the thought he would be at ease with such action seems implausible.

International Law and Brexit

He stated he was a "lifelong advocate of international law" but the public "simply do not have the complete details at the moment".

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

And there has long been growing tension in the Labour ranks to undo or remake some of the results of Brexit.

Sir Keir rejects he's heading in that direction, but his new more concrete pledge to move closer with the European trading bloc – the vast economic European market – will probably elicit howls that he is reneging on his vow never to try to reverse the choices that stemmed from Brexit.

A commitment to cosy up to more of the single market will delight a faction on his side of the party, but it is prime ammunition for Reform and the Conservatives to