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"I will be positioned in the same seat by 2027," Starmer declared, noting that if the conversation proceeded smoothly, he might invite the interviewer into his official residence for another talk next year.

There is never truly break for those in the top job. Just an hour before we sat down, Sir Keir had been in calls with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and attempting to understand precisely had transpired in Venezuela, where his big political chum, US President Donald Trump, had just targeted and seized its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

When our lengthy talk, which was considerably lengthier than usual, had concluded, Maduro had been formally accused in New York.

Renewed Energy for the New Year

But as the new year begins, Sir Keir seems to have had a kind of a reboot. Maybe even just some downtime with his family at Chequers, the prime minister's official country residence.

This appeared to have put him in a more positive mood than at the difficult conclusion of 2025, a awful year politically for him.

Yet, are he and his supporters being unrealistic if they believe his fortunes are about to improve?

Party Concerns

The harsh reality for the PM is that a significant number of his colleagues think he's ineffective at his job. Some of them would rather take a risk and oust him in 2026.

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

Repeatedly he insisted he'd be "assessed at the poll", maintaining nobody would strip his electoral mandate from him – despite the fact that the best chance of preventing Nigel Farage and Reform UK entering No 10 may be for Labour to change leader.

"We are in the struggle of our lifetime and I aim to lead us," he said.

The Spring Test

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

True – to some extent. But although he may not want 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 resign, even if one of his colleagues ran against him for the job, should those elections be very poor for Labour.

Predicting a Turnaround

He attempted to rationalise his unpopularity by saying the public was naturally eager for things to improve. He tried to assure me, and the nation, that 2026 would be different.

The economy would recover notwithstanding rising unemployment, he claimed, when strategies the government implemented during their initial turbulent year began to take effect.

• He vowed to empty asylum hotels ahead of the current target date of 2029, but he did not set a firm date on that.
• He noted too, with the qualification that it wasn't a certainty, that a peace deal in Ukraine felt a greater possibility now than at any time since Russia's comprehensive invasion.
• He revealed for the first occasion that Western allies were now considering how to integrate US and European forces to offer security for Ukraine – to safeguard a possible peace.

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

Political Challenges

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

However, in spite of facing pressure from various quarters for a more decisive approach, with greater political clarity, more urgency, more speed and more urgency, his explanations were familiar ones.

When he finds himself in such significant political trouble, should he consider a change of tack?

No administration, and especially not one that has been unpopular for many months, has everything its own way.

Sir Keir's challenges are not only because government is difficult, but because he and his colleagues have faltered, including in the last few weeks.

Regrets and Risks

The prime minister expressed regret that he was sorry for saying he was "pleased" to welcome back 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 attributed it to "the system" for not realising what the activist had said before – a more diplomatic way of saying it wasn't his responsibility.

And he is inviting evident political risks as the year gets going. His alliance with the US president entails a new jeopardy after Trump's strikes on Venezuela.

Having interviewed Sir Keir Starmer, a former human rights lawyer who opposed the war in Iraq, over a long period, the idea he would be comfortable with these events seems implausible.

International Law and Brexit

He stated he was a "career-long advocate of international law" but the public "just do not have the full picture at the moment".

Critics wanted him to condemn it prior to the interview. And the government is expected to face increased demands to give an definitive view in Parliament in the next few days.

There has also always been simmering tension in the Labour party to reverse or renegotiate some of the results of Brexit.

Sir Keir denies he's pursuing that, but his new specific plan to align more closely with the European trading bloc – the giant economic European market – will likely provoke protests that he is reneging on his promise never to try to undo the decisions that stemmed from Brexit.

A move to cosy up to more of the single market will please many on his backbenches, but it is simple material for Reform and the Conservatives to