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"I'll be sitting in this position by 2027," Sir Keir Starmer stated, joking that if the interview proceeded smoothly, he might invite the interviewer into Number 10 for a follow-up conversation in the coming year.

There is never truly break for prime ministers. Shortly before the interview began, Sir Keir had been in calls with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and attempting to work out precisely had transpired in Venezuela, where his key ally, US President Donald Trump, had just attacked and captured its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

When the discussion, which was far more extended than normal, had finished, Maduro had been indicted in New York.

Renewed Energy for the New Year

As the year commences, Sir Keir appears to have had something of a reboot. Maybe even just a bit of relaxation with loved ones at Chequers, the prime minister's rural getaway.

This appeared to have left him in better spirits than at the difficult conclusion of 2025, a awful annus horribilis for him.

Yet, are he and his colleagues being unrealistic if they believe his fortunes are set to get better?

Leadership Questions

The grisly reality for the PM is that numerous of his fellow MPs think he's not very good at his job. Some of them would rather take a risk and oust him sooner rather than later.

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

On several occasions he told me he'd be "evaluated at the poll", maintaining no one would remove his electoral mandate from him – even if the most effective strategy of halting Nigel Farage and Reform UK entering No 10 may be for Labour to switch its leader.

"We are in the battle of our lifetime and I plan to be at the forefront," he declared.

The Spring Test

The problem for the PM is that he will be assessed well ahead of then – in a major set of elections in May across the UK. He attempted to protest, maybe too much, 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 scenario under which he would step down, should a his MPs challenged him for the job, should those elections prove disastrous for Labour.

Predicting a Turnaround

He attempted to account for his low poll ratings by saying the electorate was reasonably eager for things to get better. He aimed to persuade the interviewer, and the public, that this year would be distinct.

The economic situation would improve despite rising unemployment, he said, when policies the government implemented during their initial turbulent year began to take effect.

• He vowed to shut asylum hotels before the current deadline of 2029, although he wouldn't set a specific date on that.
• He said too, with the qualification that it wasn't a done deal, that a peace deal in Ukraine felt more likely now than at any time since Russia's full-scale invasion.
• He revealed for the first occasion that Western allies were now talking about how to integrate US and European forces to offer security for Ukraine – to protect a possible peace.

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

Familiar Arguments

The PM may have spoken with greater vigour than observed from him for a while – less tense, maybe, with more time to talk.

However, in spite of facing demands from within his own party for a bolder strategy, with increased political clarity, more dynamism, more speed and more urgency, his explanations were familiar ones.

Given that he is in considerable political difficulty, does he need a change of tack?

No administration, and certainly not one that has been unpopular for many months, has everything its as planned.

Sir Keir's problems are not only because governing is difficult, but because he and his team have faltered, even in the recent past.

Controversies and Dangers

The PM 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 backlash when comments he'd made in the past – including calls for Zionists and police to be killed – came to light.

Sir Keir attributed it to "procedures" for not catching what the activist had said before – a fancier way of saying not my fault.

And he is facing obvious political dangers as the year unfolds. His close relationship with the US president acquires a new jeopardy after Trump's strikes on Venezuela.

Based on years of interviewing Sir Keir Starmer, a former human rights lawyer who was against the war in Iraq, over a long period, the thought he would be content with these events seems implausible.

International Law and Brexit

He stated he was a "longtime proponent of international law" but we "just do not have the entire story at the moment".

Critics demanded criticise the action before we spoke. And the administration is expected to face increased demands to give an clear view in Parliament in the next few days.

And there has always been bubbling desire in the Labour ranks to undo or remake some of the results of Brexit.

Sir Keir disputes he's doing that, but his new firmer plan to align more closely with the EU's single market – the vast economic European market – will probably provoke accusations that he is going back on his pledge never to try to undo the results that followed Brexit.

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