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"I'll remain in the same position by 2027," Starmer stated, joking that if our interview was successful, he might invite us into Downing Street for another chat next year.

There is never truly downtime for leaders. Shortly before the interview began, Starmer had been in calls with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and trying to understand what on earth had transpired in Venezuela, where his key 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 finished, Maduro had been formally accused in New York.

A Reboot for the New Year

With the new year begins, Sir Keir seems to have had something of a revitalisation. Maybe even just a bit of downtime with the family at Chequers, the prime minister's official country residence.

That certainly appeared to have resulted in improved morale than at the sluggish conclusion of 2025, a dreadful annus horribilis for him.

But are he and his supporters being unrealistic if they believe his political fate are about to turn around?

Internal Doubts

The harsh reality for the prime minister is that numerous of his fellow MPs are convinced he's ineffective at his job. Some of them would sooner take a risk and get him out in 2026.

But Starmer was dismissing such talk during our conversation on Saturday morning.

Repeatedly he stated he'd be "assessed at the poll", maintaining no one would strip his term from him – despite the fact that the best chance of preventing Nigel Farage and Reform UK reaching No 10 may be for Labour to switch leader.

"We are in the fight of our generation and I plan to lead us," he declared.

The Spring Test

The challenge 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 argue, perhaps too much, that they are concerning who runs councils, and who runs the devolved administrations in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not about Westminster.

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

This did not stop Sir Keir implying that there were no scenario under which he would walk away, should a his colleagues contested his leadership for the job, if those elections prove very poor for Labour.

An Optimistic Outlook

He attempted to account for his unpopularity by saying the voters was naturally anxious for things to improve. He sought to convince me, and the nation, that 2026 would be a change.

The economic situation would strengthen despite rising unemployment, he said, when plans the administration implemented during their initial choppy year began to bear fruit.

• He vowed to close asylum hotels ahead of the current deadline of 2029, but he wouldn't put a new date on that.
• He added too, with the qualification that it was not a done deal, that a peace deal in Ukraine felt more likely now than at any point since Russia's full-scale invasion.
• He disclosed for the first time that Western partners were now talking about how to integrate US and European forces to offer security for Ukraine – to safeguard a possible peace.

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

A Consistent Script

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

However, in spite of encountering calls from various quarters for a more decisive strategy, with much more political direction, more vigour, more speed and more urgency, his explanations were familiar ones.

Given that he is in this much political peril, does he need a different script?

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

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

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 after an outcry when comments he'd previously made – including calls for Zionists and police to be killed – surfaced.

Starmer attributed it to "procedures" for not catching what the activist had said before – a more diplomatic way of saying not my fault.

And he is courting obvious political dangers as the year progresses. His alliance with the US president takes on a new risk after Trump's strikes on Venezuela.

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

Policy Stances and Pressures

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

Opponents demanded denounce it prior to we spoke. And the administration is likely to face further scrutiny to give an clear view in Parliament in the near future.

There has also always been bubbling desire in the Labour ranks to revisit some of the consequences of Brexit.

The PM rejects he's doing that, but his new firmer pledge to align more closely with the single market – the vast economic European market – will probably provoke accusations that he is going back on his promise never to try to overturn the results that flowed from Brexit.

A move to integrate into more of the single market will please a faction on his side of the party, but it is prime ammunition for Reform and the Conservatives to