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"I will remain in the same seat by 2027," the Prime Minister stated, adding that if our discussion went well, he might invite us into Number 10 for another chat in the coming year.

For a PM, there's never any time off for leaders. Just an hour before we sat down, Starmer had been on the phone with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and working to decipher exactly what had occurred in Venezuela, where his key ally, US President Donald Trump, had just targeted and seized its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

When our lengthy talk, which was much longer than typical, had finished, Maduro had been formally accused in New York.

A Refresh for the New Year

As the year starts, Sir Keir appears to have had a kind of a reboot. Perhaps even just some relaxation with loved ones at Chequers, the prime minister's official country residence.

That certainly appeared to have left him in improved morale than at the saggy conclusion of 2025, a dreadful year politically for him.

Yet, are he and his supporters deluding themselves if they believe his political fate are about to get better?

Party Concerns

The grisly reality for the prime minister is that numerous of his colleagues are convinced he's not very good at his job. Several of them would rather take a risk and get him out sooner rather than later.

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

Repeatedly he stated he'd be "evaluated at the next election", arguing no one would remove his electoral mandate from him – despite the fact that the most effective strategy of halting Nigel Farage and Reform UK getting to No 10 may be for Labour to change leader.

"We are in the battle of our times and I aim to lead us," he affirmed.

The May Elections

The problem for the prime minister is that he will be scrutinised well ahead of then – in a huge set of elections in May across the UK. He attempted to argue, maybe excessively, that they are concerning who runs local authorities, and who runs the devolved administrations in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not about Westminster.

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

Despite this, Sir Keir implying that there were no scenario under which he would resign, even if one of his colleagues contested his leadership for the job, if those elections prove catastrophic for Labour.

An Optimistic Outlook

He attempted to explain his low poll ratings by saying the voters was understandably eager for things to improve. He aimed to assure me, and the nation, that the coming months would be distinct.

The economic situation would improve notwithstanding rising unemployment, he said, when strategies the government implemented during their first rocky year began to take effect.

• He committed to empty asylum hotels ahead of the current deadline of 2029, although he wouldn't set a new date on that.
• He said too, with the qualification that it wasn't a certainty, that a peace agreement in Ukraine felt a greater possibility now than at any point since Russia's comprehensive invasion.
• He disclosed for the first time that Western partners were now discussing how to integrate US and European forces to ensure security for Ukraine – to protect a potential peace.

His central message is that this year the country will "turn the corner".

Political Challenges

The PM may have spoken with greater vigour than observed from him for a while – more relaxed, maybe, with more time to talk.

However, in spite of facing demands from many directions for a bolder strategy, with much more political vision, more urgency, more speed and more urgency, his arguments were repeated ones.

Given that he is in considerable political peril, should he consider a different script?

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

The Prime Minister's challenges are not only because government is hard, but because he and his team have erred, including in the recent past.

Regrets and Risks

The prime minister expressed regret that he regretted saying he was "delighted" to see the return of the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK following an controversy when comments he'd previously made – including calls for Zionists and police to be killed – resurfaced.

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

And he is facing obvious political dangers as the year progresses. His close relationship with the US president takes on a new jeopardy after Trump's strikes on Venezuela.

Having interviewed Sir Keir Starmer, a former human rights lawyer who was against the war in Iraq, over his career, the notion he would be content with these events seems far-fetched.

Policy Stances and Pressures

He asserted he was a "longtime proponent of international law" but we "just haven't got the complete details at the moment".

Some called for him to denounce 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 always been simmering pressure in the Labour ranks to revisit some of the consequences of Brexit.

The PM denies he's doing that, but his new firmer plan to align more closely with the European trading bloc – the giant economic European market – will likely elicit howls that he is breaking his pledge never to try to overturn the results that stemmed from Brexit.

A decision to cosy up to more of the single market will delight many on his side of the party, but it is easy fodder for Reform and the Conservatives to