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"I will be sitting in the same position by 2027," the Prime Minister remarked, joking that if our discussion was successful, he might welcome us into Number 10 for another chat in 2026.

There is rarely ever time off for prime ministers. Shortly before our chat started, Starmer had been speaking with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and attempting to understand precisely had happened in Venezuela, where his key political chum, US President Donald Trump, had recently targeted and seized its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

Once the discussion, which was much longer than usual, had ended, Maduro had been formally accused in New York.

Renewed Energy for the New Year

As the new year begins, Starmer seems to have had a kind of a reboot. Perhaps even just a little relaxation with loved ones at Chequers, the prime minister's rural getaway.

That certainly seemed to have resulted in better spirits than at the sluggish conclusion of 2025, a terrible annus horribilis for him.

But are he and his supporters being unrealistic if they believe his standing are set to get better?

Party Concerns

The grisly reality for the leader is that many of his fellow MPs believe he's not very good at his job. Some of them would rather take a risk and oust him in 2026.

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

Repeatedly he told me he'd be "evaluated at the poll", arguing no one would take his five-year mandate from him – despite the fact that the best chance of preventing Nigel Farage and Reform UK getting to No 10 might be for Labour to change its leader.

"We are in the struggle of our times and I aim to be at the forefront," he declared.

Upcoming Local Votes

The problem for the PM is that he will be judged far sooner than then – in a mega set of elections in May throughout the UK. He sought to contend, maybe too much, that they are about who runs local authorities, and who runs the governments in Holyrood or Cardiff – and unrelated to Westminster.

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

Despite this, Sir Keir stating that there were no situation under which he would resign, even if a his MPs challenged him for the job, should those elections be catastrophic for Labour.

An Optimistic Outlook

He tried to explain his unpopularity by saying the voters was understandably eager for things to improve. He sought to assure the interviewer, and the nation, that 2026 would be different.

The economy would recover despite rising unemployment, he claimed, when policies the administration put in place during their initial choppy year began to take effect.

• He vowed to close asylum hotels before the current target date of 2029, but he did not put a firm date on that.
• He added too, with the proviso that it was not a done deal, that a peace deal in Ukraine felt closer now than at any point since Russia's comprehensive invasion.
• He disclosed for the first time that Western allies were now considering how to integrate US and European forces to offer security for Ukraine – to guard a potential peace.

His central argument is that soon the country will "see an improvement".

Political Challenges

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

However, in spite of facing demands from various quarters for a more decisive strategy, with increased political direction, more vigour, more pace and more urgency, his arguments were familiar ones.

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

No government, and especially not one that has been unpopular for an extended period, has everything its own way.

Sir Keir's challenges are not just because governing is challenging, but because he and his team have faltered, including in the last few weeks.

Controversies and Dangers

The PM admitted that he regretted saying he was "pleased" to welcome back the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK following an controversy when statements he'd made in the past – such as calls for Zionists and police to be killed – resurfaced.

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

And he is courting evident political risks as the year progresses. 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 opposed the war in Iraq, over his career, the thought he would be content with this kind of intervention seems implausible.

International Law and Brexit

He stated he was a "longtime advocate of international law" but we "simply do not have the entire story at the moment".

Some demanded denounce it prior to the interview. And the administration is likely to face increased demands to give an clear view in Parliament in the next few days.

There has also long been growing pressure in the Labour ranks to revisit some of the results of Brexit.

The PM rejects he's heading in that direction, but his new more concrete pledge to move closer with the single market – the giant economic European trading zone – will likely elicit howls that he is reneging on his vow never to try to overturn the decisions that flowed from Brexit.

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