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"I will be positioned in the same seat by 2027," Starmer stated, joking that if our interview went well, he might welcome the interviewer into his official residence for another chat next year.

For a PM, there's rarely ever break for leaders. Shortly before we sat down, the PM had been on the phone with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and working to work out precisely had occurred in Venezuela, where his big political chum, US President Donald Trump, had just attacked and captured its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

By the time our lengthy talk, which was much longer than usual, had finished, Maduro had been formally accused in New York.

A Refresh for the New Year

But as the new year begins, Starmer seems to have had a degree of a revitalisation. Perhaps even just some a rest with loved ones at Chequers, the prime minister's rural getaway.

That certainly seemed to have resulted in a more positive mood than at the saggy end of 2025, a awful annus horribilis for him.

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

Internal Doubts

The harsh truth for the prime minister is that numerous of his party members believe he's underperforming at his job. Some of them would rather take a risk and remove him sooner rather than later.

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

On several occasions he stated he'd be "assessed at the general election", maintaining nobody would strip his term from him – even if the best chance of halting Nigel Farage and Reform UK entering No 10 might be for Labour to change its leader.

"This is the fight of our generation and I intend to be at the forefront," he declared.

The May Elections

The challenge for the PM is that he will be judged long before then – in a mega set of elections in May throughout the UK. He attempted 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.

True – up to a point. But even though he may be reluctant to acknowledge it, No 10 will be held accountable by those elections too.

Despite this, Sir Keir stating that there were no scenario under which he would walk away, even if a his MPs contested his leadership for the job, should those elections be disastrous for Labour.

Promises of Improvement

He tried to explain his low poll ratings by saying the public was naturally impatient for things to get better. He aimed to assure the interviewer, and the nation, that the coming months would be distinct.

The economy would strengthen notwithstanding rising unemployment, he claimed, when plans the government enacted during their initial choppy year began to take effect.

• He pledged to close asylum hotels before the current target date of 2029, although he wouldn't put a new date on that.
• He added too, with the proviso that it was not a done deal, that a settlement in Ukraine felt more likely now than at any point since Russia's major invasion.
• He revealed for the first occasion that Western allies were now talking about how to combine US and European forces to offer security for Ukraine – to guard a potential peace.

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

Political Challenges

The prime minister may have spoken with more energy than I've seen from him for a while – more relaxed, perhaps, with more time to talk.

But despite facing pressure from many directions for a bolder approach, with increased political vision, more dynamism, more pace and more urgency, his points were well-known ones.

Given that he is in such significant political peril, does he need a change of tack?

No government, and certainly not one that has been unpopular for an extended period, has everything its as desired.

The Prime Minister's problems are not only because government is hard, but because he and his colleagues have erred, even in the last few weeks.

Regrets and Risks

The prime minister told me that he regretted saying he was "happy" to see the return of the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK following an backlash when statements he'd made in the past – including calls for Zionists and police to be killed – resurfaced.

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 courting evident political dangers as the year progresses. His friendship with the US president acquires a new risk after Trump's intervention on Venezuela.

Based on years of interviewing Sir Keir Starmer, a ex- human rights lawyer who opposed the war in Iraq, over his career, the notion he would be content with this kind of intervention seems far-fetched.

International Law and Brexit

He asserted he was a "longtime champion of international law" but the public "just do not have the full picture at the moment".

Opponents called for him to criticise the action before the interview. And the government is expected to face further scrutiny to give an explicit view in Parliament in the coming days.

And there has long been growing desire in the Labour ranks to reverse or renegotiate some of the consequences of Brexit.

The PM denies he's doing that, but his new firmer pledge to move closer with the European trading bloc – the huge economic European trading zone – will likely trigger accusations that he is breaking his vow never to try to overturn the choices that flowed from Brexit.

A decision to integrate into more of the single market will please some on his own side, but it is prime ammunition for Reform and the Conservatives to