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"I will remain in the same seat by 2027," Sir Keir Starmer remarked, noting that if the conversation proceeded smoothly, he might invite us into his official residence for another conversation in the coming year.

For a PM, there's never truly downtime for those in the top job. Shortly before the interview began, Starmer had been in calls with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and working to work out exactly what had occurred in Venezuela, where his big ally, US President Donald Trump, had recently targeted and seized its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

When our interview, which was far more extended than usual, had ended, Maduro had been formally accused in New York.

A Reboot for the New Year

As the new year begins, Sir Keir appears to have had something of a refresh. Maybe even just some relaxation with loved ones at Chequers, the prime minister's official country residence.

This seemed to have left him in a more positive mood than at the difficult tail end of 2025, a terrible political year for him.

But are he and his allies kidding themselves if they believe his political fate are poised to turn around?

Leadership Questions

The grisly truth for the leader is that numerous of his colleagues believe he's not very good at his job. Some of them would rather gamble and get him out in 2026.

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

Repeatedly he told me he'd be "evaluated at the general election", arguing no one would strip his five-year mandate from him – even if the best chance of halting Nigel Farage and Reform UK entering No 10 could be for Labour to switch leader.

"We are in the struggle of our lifetime and I aim to guide the party," he affirmed.

Upcoming Local Votes

The problem for the prime minister is that he will be assessed long before then – in a huge set of elections in May throughout the UK. He sought to argue, perhaps too much, that they are concerning who runs local authorities, and who runs the devolved administrations in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not about Westminster.

Accurate – to some extent. But even though he may be reluctant to admit it, No 10 will be evaluated by those elections too.

This did not stop Sir Keir suggesting that there were no situation under which he would step down, should one of his colleagues challenged him for the job, if those elections be very poor for Labour.

Predicting a Turnaround

He sought to rationalise his low poll ratings by saying the electorate was reasonably eager for things to get better. He aimed to persuade me, and the nation, that this year would be a change.

The economy would improve despite rising unemployment, he said, when plans the government implemented during their initial turbulent year began to show results.

• He pledged to close asylum hotels before the current target date of 2029, but he wouldn't put a firm date on that.
• He noted too, with the caveat that it was not a done deal, that a peace deal in Ukraine felt more likely now than at any point since Russia's major invasion.
• He stated for the first occasion that Western partners were now considering how to coordinate US and European forces to ensure security for Ukraine – to safeguard a potential peace.

His big message is that in 2026 the country will "see an improvement".

Political Challenges

The prime minister may have spoken with greater vigour than I've seen from him for a some time – calmer, maybe, with a longer slot to talk.

But despite facing demands from within his own party for a bolder strategy, with increased political direction, more vigour, more speed and more urgency, his arguments were familiar ones.

When he finds himself in considerable political trouble, does he need a different script?

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

Sir Keir's challenges are not just because governing is hard, but because he and his team have made mistakes, including in the last few weeks.

Controversies and Dangers

The prime minister told me that he regretted saying he was "delighted" to see the return of the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK after an controversy when statements he'd previously made – such as calls for Zionists and police to be killed – surfaced.

Starmer blamed "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 risks as the year gets going. His friendship with the US president entails a new jeopardy after Trump's military action on Venezuela.

Having interviewed Sir Keir Starmer, a ex- human rights lawyer who was against the war in Iraq, over many years, the idea he would be comfortable with these events seems unlikely.

Policy Stances and Pressures

He asserted he was a "lifelong advocate of international law" but the public "simply lack the entire story at the moment".

Opponents demanded denounce it before the interview. And the administration is likely to face more pressure to give an explicit view in Parliament in the coming days.

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

The PM rejects he's heading in that direction, but his new firmer plan to align more closely with the EU's single market – the giant economic European trading zone – will likely elicit howls that he is breaking his pledge never to try to undo the decisions that stemmed from Brexit.

A move to integrate into more of the single market will delight some on his own side, but it is easy fodder for Reform and the Conservatives to