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"I'll be sitting in this position by 2027," the Prime Minister declared, noting that if our interview proceeded smoothly, he might invite the interviewer into Downing Street for a follow-up chat in 2026.

There is never any break for those in the top job. In the hour before the interview began, Sir Keir had been on the phone with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and trying to decipher what on earth had happened in Venezuela, where his key friend, US President Donald Trump, had recently attacked and captured its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

When our interview, which was much longer than normal, had concluded, Maduro had been indicted in New York.

Renewed Energy for the New Year

With the year starts, Starmer appears to have had a kind of a refresh. Perhaps even just a little relaxation with loved ones at Chequers, the prime minister's rural getaway.

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

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

Party Concerns

The grisly reality for the PM is that a significant number of his fellow MPs think he's underperforming at his job. Several of them would sooner take a risk and oust him this year.

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

Repeatedly he stated he'd be "evaluated at the general election", insisting no one would take his electoral mandate from him – despite the fact that the best chance of halting Nigel Farage and Reform UK entering No 10 might be for Labour to change leader.

"We are in the fight of our generation and I aim to be at the forefront," he declared.

The May Elections

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 sought to argue, maybe excessively, that they are about who runs councils, and who runs the devolved administrations in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not about Westminster.

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

This did not stop Sir Keir stating that there were no situation under which he would resign, should a his colleagues ran against him for the job, should those elections be disastrous for Labour.

Promises of Improvement

He sought to account for his low poll ratings by saying the public was naturally eager for things to change. He aimed to convince me, and the nation, that 2026 would be different.

The economy would strengthen notwithstanding rising unemployment, he argued, when policies the government implemented during their first rocky year began to take effect.

• He vowed to empty asylum hotels ahead of the current deadline of 2029, although he did not put a new date on that.
• He added too, with the caveat that it was not a foregone conclusion, that a peace agreement in Ukraine felt more likely now than at any time since Russia's comprehensive invasion.
• He disclosed for the first time that Western allies were now considering how to combine US and European forces to ensure security for Ukraine – to safeguard a possible peace.

His core argument is that this year the country will "reach a turning point".

A Consistent Script

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

However, in spite of encountering calls from various quarters for a bolder strategy, with greater political vision, more dynamism, more pace and more immediacy, his points were well-known ones.

When he finds himself in this much political difficulty, should he consider a different script?

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

The Prime Minister's challenges are not only because government is challenging, but because he and his team have faltered, including in the last few weeks.

Regrets and Risks

The PM expressed regret that he regretted saying he was "pleased" to welcome back the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK after an controversy when comments he'd previously made – including calls for Zionists and police to be killed – surfaced.

Sir Keir blamed "procedures" for failing to identify what the activist had said before – a more diplomatic way of saying it wasn't his responsibility.

And he is courting obvious political risks as the year progresses. His alliance with the US president acquires a new jeopardy 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 a long period, the idea he would be at ease with such action seems unlikely.

International Law and Brexit

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

Critics demanded denounce it prior to we spoke. And the government is expected to face more pressure to give an clear view in Parliament in the coming days.

And there has long been simmering desire in the Labour ranks to revisit some of the outcomes of Brexit.

The PM rejects he's pursuing that, but his new specific commitment to move closer with the EU's single market – the vast economic European trading zone – will likely trigger accusations that he is going back on his vow never to try to overturn the decisions that followed Brexit.

A move to cosy up to more of the single market will please many on his side of the party, but it is prime ammunition for Reform and the Conservatives to