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"I'll be positioned in the same position by 2027," Starmer remarked, joking that if our interview proceeded smoothly, he might welcome us into his official residence for another conversation in the coming year.

For a PM, there's never any time off for those in the top job. Shortly before the interview began, the PM had been on the phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and trying to understand precisely had transpired in Venezuela, where his key political chum, US President Donald Trump, had recently launched a strike against and detained its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

By the time our interview, which was much longer than usual, had finished, Maduro had been indicted in New York.

A Refresh for the New Year

But as the new year begins, Sir Keir seems to have had something of a refresh. Perhaps even just a little a rest with loved ones at Chequers, the prime minister's official country residence.

This seemed to have resulted in better spirits than at the saggy end of 2025, a terrible political year for him.

But are he and his supporters kidding themselves if they believe his fortunes are set to get better?

Internal Doubts

The harsh reality for the PM is that numerous of his fellow MPs are convinced he's underperforming at his job. A faction of them would rather take a risk and get him out this year.

However Sir Keir was having none of it in the interview on Saturday morning.

Repeatedly he stated he'd be "assessed at the poll", maintaining no one would remove his five-year mandate from him – despite the fact that the optimal path of halting Nigel Farage and Reform UK reaching No 10 might be for Labour to switch leader.

"This is the struggle of our times and I aim to guide the party," he affirmed.

The May Elections

The problem for the prime minister is that he will be judged long before then – in a major set of elections in May throughout the UK. He sought to argue, maybe excessively, that they are about who runs councils, and who runs the governments in Holyrood or Cardiff – and unrelated to Westminster.

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

Despite this, Sir Keir stating that there were no situation under which he would resign, should one of his colleagues contested his leadership for the job, should those elections be catastrophic for Labour.

An Optimistic Outlook

He attempted to explain his unpopularity by saying the electorate was reasonably impatient for things to improve. He sought to persuade the interviewer, and the nation, that the coming months would be different.

The economic situation would strengthen despite rising unemployment, he argued, when policies the administration implemented during their initial rocky year began to show results.

• He committed to shut asylum hotels before the current target date of 2029, but he did not put a firm date on that.
• He noted too, with the caveat that it was not a foregone conclusion, that a peace agreement in Ukraine felt closer now than at any time since Russia's comprehensive invasion.
• He revealed for the first occasion that Western allies were now discussing how to combine US and European forces to offer security for Ukraine – to protect a possible peace.

His central argument is that in 2026 the country will "turn the corner".

Political Challenges

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

However, in spite of encountering pressure from within his own party for a bolder approach, with increased political clarity, more urgency, more speed and more urgency, his points were familiar ones.

Given that he is in this much political trouble, should he consider a different script?

No administration, and especially not one that has been unpopular for many months, gets everything its own way.

Sir Keir's challenges are not just because governing 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 "happy" to welcome back 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 – resurfaced.

Starmer 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 obvious political risks as the year gets going. His close relationship with the US president takes on a new risk after Trump's intervention on Venezuela.

Having interviewed Sir Keir Starmer, a ex- human rights lawyer who was against the war in Iraq, over his career, the notion he would be at ease with these events seems far-fetched.

International Law and Brexit

He told me he was a "career-long champion of international law" but we "just lack the entire story at the moment".

Critics wanted him to condemn it before we spoke. And the government is likely to face increased demands to give an explicit view in Parliament in the near future.

There has also consistently been bubbling desire in the Labour party to undo or remake some of the outcomes of Brexit.

The PM denies he's pursuing that, but his new specific commitment to integrate further with the European trading bloc – the vast economic European trading zone – will probably trigger howls that he is going back on his promise never to try to overturn the choices 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