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"I'll be sitting in the same position by 2027," the Prime Minister stated, noting that if the interview went well, he might invite us into his official residence for another chat in the coming year.

For a PM, there's never any break for leaders. Just an hour before our chat started, Sir Keir had been in calls with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and working to decipher what on earth had occurred in Venezuela, where his key friend, US President Donald Trump, had just launched a strike against and detained its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

By the time our interview, which was far more extended than typical, had finished, Maduro had been formally accused in New York.

Renewed Energy for the New Year

But as the new year begins, the Prime Minister appears to have had something of a revitalisation. Perhaps even just a bit of downtime with the family at Chequers, the prime minister's rural getaway.

That certainly seemed to have left him in a more positive mood than at the saggy conclusion of 2025, a dreadful annus horribilis for him.

Yet, are he and his colleagues deluding themselves if they think his standing are poised to improve?

Internal Doubts

The grisly reality for the PM is that many of his colleagues believe he's not very good at his job. Some of them would rather gamble and remove him this year.

However Starmer was dismissing such talk when we spoke on Saturday morning.

On several occasions he insisted he'd be "evaluated at the poll", insisting no one would take his term from him – despite the fact that the optimal path of stopping Nigel Farage and Reform UK entering No 10 might be for Labour to change leader.

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

Upcoming Local Votes

The problem for the PM is that he will be judged long before then – in a huge set of elections in May across the UK. He tried to argue, maybe too much, that they are concerning who runs councils, and who runs the governments in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not about Westminster.

Accurate – in part. But although he may not want to admit it, No 10 will be judged by those elections too.

Despite this, Sir Keir implying that there were no scenario under which he would step down, should one of his colleagues contested his leadership for the job, if those elections be disastrous for Labour.

Predicting a Turnaround

He tried to account for his low poll ratings by saying the public was understandably anxious for things to get better. He sought to assure the interviewer, and the public, that the coming months would be different.

The economic situation would strengthen despite rising unemployment, he claimed, when plans the administration implemented during their initial rocky year began to bear fruit.

• He committed to close asylum hotels before the current deadline of 2029, but he wouldn't put a firm date on that.
• He added too, with the proviso that it wasn't a foregone conclusion, that a peace agreement in Ukraine felt more likely now than at any point since Russia's major invasion.
• He revealed for the first time that Western allies were now talking about how to integrate US and European forces to ensure security for Ukraine – to protect a possible peace.

His central message is that in 2026 the country will "turn the corner".

A Consistent Script

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

But despite facing calls from various quarters for a bolder approach, with much more political vision, more urgency, more pace and more urgency, his explanations were repeated ones.

Given that he is in this much political peril, does he need a different script?

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

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

Regrets and Risks

The PM told me that he was sorry for saying he was "delighted" to welcome back the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK after an backlash when past remarks he'd previously made – including calls for Zionists and police to be killed – surfaced.

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

And he is courting obvious political risks as the year gets going. His close relationship with the US president entails a new complication 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 content with this kind of intervention seems unlikely.

Policy Stances and Pressures

He told me he was a "lifelong proponent of international law" but we "simply haven't got the full picture at the moment".

Some wanted him to criticise the action before the interview. And the government is likely to face increased demands to give an clear view in Parliament in the coming days.

There has also consistently been growing tension in the Labour ranks to undo or remake some of the consequences of Brexit.

Sir Keir denies he's heading in that direction, but his new firmer plan to integrate further with the European trading bloc – the huge economic European market – will probably trigger protests that he is breaking his pledge never to try to reverse the decisions that flowed from Brexit.

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