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"I will remain in the same position by 2027," the Prime Minister stated, joking that if our conversation proceeded smoothly, he might invite us into his official residence for another chat next year.

There is never truly break for leaders. Shortly before the interview began, the PM had been in calls with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and trying to decipher exactly what had transpired in Venezuela, where his big friend, US President Donald Trump, had just launched a strike against and detained its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

When our interview, which was considerably lengthier than typical, had concluded, Maduro had been charged in New York.

Renewed Energy for the New Year

With the new year begins, the Prime Minister appears to have had something of a refresh. Maybe even just a little a rest with loved ones at Chequers, the prime minister's rural getaway.

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

But are he and his colleagues deluding themselves if they believe his political fate are set to improve?

Internal Doubts

The grisly reality for the prime minister is that many of his party members think he's not very good at his job. A faction of them would sooner take a risk and get him out this year.

But Starmer was having none of it during our conversation on Saturday morning.

Repeatedly he told me he'd be "evaluated at the poll", maintaining no one would take his term from him – even if the most effective strategy of halting Nigel Farage and Reform UK getting to No 10 may be for Labour to replace leader.

"We are in the battle of our times and I intend to lead us," he affirmed.

Upcoming Local Votes

The issue for the PM is that he will be scrutinised far sooner than then – in a mega set of elections in May across the UK. He tried 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 – to some extent. But although he may not want to admit it, No 10 will be judged by those elections too.

Despite this, Sir Keir suggesting that there were no situation under which he would step down, should one of his MPs ran against him for the job, should those elections be very poor for Labour.

Promises of Improvement

He sought to account for his low poll ratings by saying the electorate was reasonably anxious for things to change. He sought to convince me, and the nation, that the coming months would be different.

The economy would recover notwithstanding rising unemployment, he claimed, when plans the government implemented during their first turbulent year began to bear fruit.

• He pledged to empty asylum hotels ahead of the current deadline of 2029, but he wouldn't set a specific date on that.
• He said too, with the proviso that it wasn't a foregone conclusion, that a settlement in Ukraine felt closer now than at any time since Russia's comprehensive invasion.
• He disclosed for the first time that Western partners were now considering how to integrate US and European forces to provide security for Ukraine – to safeguard a possible peace.

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

Political Challenges

The prime minister may have communicated with greater vigour than I've seen from him for a while – calmer, perhaps, with more time to talk.

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

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

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

Sir Keir's challenges are not only because governing is challenging, but because he and his team have erred, even in the recent past.

Regrets and Risks

The PM admitted that he was sorry for saying he was "happy" to see the return of the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK after an backlash when statements he'd previously made – including calls for Zionists and police to be killed – surfaced.

Starmer blamed "the process" for failing to identify 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 progresses. His close relationship with the US president takes on a new complication after Trump's intervention on Venezuela.

Based on years of interviewing Sir Keir Starmer, a former human rights lawyer who was against the war in Iraq, over many years, the thought he would be at ease with this kind of intervention seems unlikely.

Policy Stances and Pressures

He told me he was a "lifelong champion of international law" but the public "just haven't got the complete details at the moment".

Critics wanted him to condemn it prior to we spoke. And the government is expected to face further scrutiny to give an explicit view in Parliament in the coming days.

And there has consistently been bubbling pressure in the Labour ranks to reverse or renegotiate some of the results of Brexit.

Sir Keir denies he's doing that, but his new firmer plan to integrate further with the European trading bloc – the huge economic European trading zone – will likely trigger howls that he is breaking his promise never to try to reverse the choices that followed Brexit.

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