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"I'll be positioned in this office by 2027," Starmer declared, noting that if our conversation proceeded smoothly, he might welcome us into his official residence for another chat next year.

There is rarely ever break for those in the top job. Shortly before the interview began, Starmer had been speaking with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and attempting to decipher precisely had occurred in Venezuela, where his close political chum, US President Donald Trump, had just attacked and captured its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

By the time the discussion, which was considerably lengthier than normal, had ended, Maduro had been indicted in New York.

Renewed Energy for the New Year

As the new year begins, Sir Keir seems to have had a kind of a refresh. Maybe even just a little downtime with the family at Chequers, the prime minister's country retreat.

That certainly appeared to have put him in better spirits than at the sluggish conclusion of 2025, a dreadful year politically for him.

Yet, are he and his supporters kidding themselves if they think his political fate are set to improve?

Leadership Questions

The uncomfortable truth for the PM is that numerous of his party members believe he's ineffective at his job. Several of them would rather take a risk and oust him sooner rather than later.

But Sir Keir was having none of it when we spoke on Saturday morning.

On several occasions he told me he'd be "judged at the poll", arguing nobody would remove his term from him – despite the fact that the best chance of halting Nigel Farage and Reform UK entering No 10 might be for Labour to change leader.

"This is the fight of our times and I intend to lead us," he affirmed.

The May Elections

The problem for the prime minister is that he will be scrutinised well ahead of then – in a huge set of elections in May across the UK. He sought to protest, maybe 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.

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

This did not stop Sir Keir stating that there were no circumstances under which he would resign, should one of his MPs ran against him for the job, if those elections prove very poor for Labour.

Predicting a Turnaround

He tried to rationalise his unpopularity by saying the voters was understandably anxious for things to get better. He aimed to persuade the interviewer, and the public, that 2026 would be different.

The economic situation would strengthen notwithstanding rising unemployment, he claimed, when policies the administration enacted during their first turbulent year began to take effect.

• He vowed to shut asylum hotels before the current target date of 2029, but he wouldn't set a specific date on that.
• He noted too, with the qualification that it was not a done deal, that a settlement in Ukraine felt more likely now than at any time since Russia's major invasion.
• He revealed for the first time that Western allies were now discussing how to coordinate US and European forces to offer security for Ukraine – to guard a potential peace.

His big point is that in 2026 the country will "turn the corner".

A Consistent Script

The PM may have spoken with renewed vitality than I've seen from him for a some time – more relaxed, perhaps, with more time to talk.

However, in spite of encountering calls from many directions for a bolder approach, with much more political clarity, more urgency, more speed and more immediacy, his arguments were repeated ones.

Given that he is in such significant political peril, does he need a different script?

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

The Prime Minister's challenges are not just because government is difficult, but because he and his team have faltered, including in the recent past.

Controversies and Dangers

The prime minister expressed regret 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 controversy when statements he'd made in the past – such as calls for Zionists and police to be killed – surfaced.

Sir Keir blamed "procedures" for failing to identify what the activist had said before – a more diplomatic way of saying not my fault.

And he is courting evident political dangers as the year gets going. His friendship with the US president takes on a new jeopardy after Trump's intervention on Venezuela.

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

Policy Stances and Pressures

He stated he was a "career-long champion of international law" but we "simply haven't got the full picture at the moment".

Some called for him to condemn it before we spoke. And the administration is likely to face further scrutiny to give an explicit view in Parliament in the coming days.

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

The PM denies he's heading in that direction, but his new more concrete plan to align more closely with the EU's single market – the huge economic European market – will probably elicit howls that he is reneging on his promise never to try to undo the decisions that flowed from Brexit.

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