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"I will remain in this position by 2027," the Prime Minister remarked, adding that if the discussion proceeded smoothly, he might invite us into his official residence for another conversation in 2026.

There is rarely ever time off for those in the top job. Just an hour before the interview began, Sir Keir had been in calls with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and attempting to understand exactly what had transpired in Venezuela, where his close friend, US President Donald Trump, had just attacked and captured its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

Once the discussion, which was much longer than typical, had concluded, Maduro had been charged in New York.

Renewed Energy for the New Year

As the year commences, Starmer seems to have had a degree of a revitalisation. Maybe even just a little downtime with loved ones at Chequers, the prime minister's official country residence.

This appeared to have left him in a more positive mood than at the sluggish conclusion of 2025, a terrible year politically for him.

Yet, are he and his colleagues kidding themselves if they reckon his fortunes are set to improve?

Internal Doubts

The harsh reality for the prime minister is that many of his fellow MPs think he's not very good at his job. A faction of them would rather take a risk and oust him in 2026.

However Sir Keir was rejecting the idea when we spoke on Saturday morning.

Multiple times he told me he'd be "assessed at the general election", arguing no one would strip his electoral mandate from him – despite the fact that the best chance of halting Nigel Farage and Reform UK getting to No 10 could be for Labour to replace its leader.

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

Upcoming Local Votes

The issue for the prime minister is that he will be scrutinised far sooner than then – in a huge set of elections in May across the UK. He sought to argue, maybe excessively, that they are concerning who runs councils, and who runs the devolved administrations in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not about Westminster.

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

Despite this, Sir Keir suggesting that there were no scenario under which he would walk away, should one of his colleagues ran against him for the job, should those elections prove very poor for Labour.

Predicting a Turnaround

He attempted to explain his unpopularity by saying the voters was naturally eager for things to improve. He sought to convince me, and the nation, that this year would be a change.

The economy would strengthen despite rising unemployment, he claimed, when strategies the administration enacted during their first rocky year began to show results.

• He committed to shut asylum hotels before the current target date of 2029, but he wouldn't put a specific date on that.
• He said too, with the caveat that it wasn't a done deal, that a settlement in Ukraine felt closer now than at any point 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 safeguard a possible peace.

His core message is that soon the country will "turn the corner".

Familiar Arguments

The PM may have spoken with greater vigour than I've seen from him for a some time – less tense, maybe, with more time to talk.

But despite encountering calls from many directions for a bolder approach, with greater political direction, more urgency, more speed and more urgency, his arguments were familiar ones.

When he finds himself in such significant political peril, should he consider a change of tack?

No administration, and especially not one that has been struggling in the polls for many months, gets everything its as desired.

Sir Keir's problems are not just because government is challenging, but because he and his team have erred, including in the last few weeks.

Regrets and Risks

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 following an outcry when statements he'd made in the past – including calls for Zionists and police to be killed – resurfaced.

Sir Keir attributed it to "the system" for not catching what the activist had said before – a more diplomatic way of saying it wasn't his responsibility.

And he is facing evident political perils as the year progresses. His alliance with the US president acquires a new complication after Trump's intervention on Venezuela.

Based on years of interviewing Sir Keir Starmer, a former human rights lawyer who opposed the war in Iraq, over a long period, the idea he would be content with this kind of intervention seems far-fetched.

International Law and Brexit

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

Opponents called for him to criticise the action before we spoke. And the administration is expected to face increased demands to give an definitive view in Parliament in the next few days.

There has also consistently been bubbling tension in the Labour ranks to reverse or renegotiate some of the results of Brexit.

The PM disputes he's doing that, but his new firmer plan to move closer with the EU's single market – the giant economic European market – will probably elicit accusations that he is breaking his vow never to try to reverse the choices that flowed from Brexit.

A commitment to align with more of the single market will delight some on his backbenches, but it is prime ammunition for Reform and the Conservatives to