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"I will be sitting in this position by 2027," the Prime Minister stated, adding that if our conversation went well, he might invite us into Number 10 for a follow-up conversation next year.

There is never truly time off for prime ministers. Just an hour before the interview began, Starmer had been in calls with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and working to understand what on earth had happened in Venezuela, where his close ally, US President Donald Trump, had just attacked and captured its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

By the time the discussion, which was much longer than usual, had ended, Maduro had been charged in New York.

Renewed Energy for the New Year

With the new year begins, Starmer seems to have had a kind of a refresh. Maybe even just a little relaxation with loved ones at Chequers, the prime minister's official country residence.

That certainly seemed to have put him in improved morale than at the saggy conclusion of 2025, a terrible political year for him.

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

Internal Doubts

The harsh reality for the PM is that many of his fellow MPs are convinced he's not very good at his job. Several of them would sooner take a risk and get him out this year.

But Sir Keir was dismissing such talk when we spoke on Saturday morning.

Repeatedly he insisted he'd be "assessed at the general election", insisting no one would strip his electoral mandate from him – even if the best chance of halting Nigel Farage and Reform UK entering No 10 might be for Labour to switch leader.

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

Upcoming Local Votes

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

Accurate – to some extent. But although he may not want to concede it, No 10 will be held accountable by those elections too.

This did not stop Sir Keir stating that there were no circumstances under which he would resign, even if one of his colleagues ran against him for the job, if those elections be disastrous for Labour.

Promises of Improvement

He attempted to rationalise his unpopularity by saying the public was understandably eager for things to improve. He sought to persuade the interviewer, and the public, that this year would be a change.

The economy would improve despite rising unemployment, he claimed, when policies the administration enacted during their initial choppy year began to bear fruit.

• He vowed to close asylum hotels ahead of the current deadline of 2029, but he did not put a new date on that.
• He said too, with the qualification that it was not a done deal, that a settlement in Ukraine felt closer now than at any time since Russia's comprehensive invasion.
• He disclosed for the first occasion that Western allies were now discussing how to combine US and European forces to provide security for Ukraine – to guard a possible peace.

His core message is that soon the country will "turn the corner".

Familiar Arguments

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

But despite encountering pressure from many directions for a more decisive approach, with much more political direction, more vigour, more speed and more immediacy, his arguments were repeated ones.

When he finds himself in such significant political trouble, should he consider a new narrative?

No administration, and certainly not one that has been struggling in the polls for many months, has everything its own way.

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

Controversies and Dangers

The PM told me that he regretted saying he was "pleased" to see the return of the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK following an outcry when past remarks he'd made in the past – such as calls for Zionists and police to be killed – came to light.

Starmer attributed it to "the system" for failing to identify what the activist had said before – a fancier way of saying it wasn't his responsibility.

And he is inviting evident political perils as the year progresses. His close relationship with the US president acquires a new risk after Trump's military action 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 comfortable with such action seems unlikely.

International Law and Brexit

He asserted he was a "lifelong proponent of international law" but we "simply lack the complete details at the moment".

Some demanded condemn it before the interview. And the government is expected to face further scrutiny to give an clear view in Parliament in the near future.

And there has consistently been growing tension in the Labour party to undo or remake some of the consequences of Brexit.

Sir Keir rejects he's heading in that direction, but his new firmer pledge to align more closely with the European trading bloc – the huge economic European market – will likely trigger protests that he is reneging on his promise never to try to undo the decisions that flowed from Brexit.

A decision to align with more of the single market will satisfy a faction on his own side, but it is simple material for Reform and the Conservatives to