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"I'll be positioned in the same seat by 2027," the Prime Minister declared, joking that if the discussion was successful, he might welcome us into his official residence for another talk in the coming year.

There is rarely ever time off for those in the top job. In the hour before the interview began, Starmer had been on the phone with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and working to decipher what on earth had happened in Venezuela, where his close political chum, US President Donald Trump, had just attacked and captured its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

By the time the discussion, which was considerably lengthier than typical, had finished, Maduro had been formally accused in New York.

Renewed Energy for the New Year

With the new year begins, the Prime Minister appears 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.

This appeared to have left him in a more positive mood than at the sluggish end of 2025, a terrible political year for him.

But are he and his colleagues being unrealistic if they believe his standing are poised to get better?

Internal Doubts

The uncomfortable reality for the prime minister is that many of his party members are convinced he's not very good at his job. A faction of them would rather gamble and get him out in 2026.

However Starmer was having none of it in the interview on Saturday morning.

Repeatedly he told me he'd be "evaluated at the general election", maintaining no one would remove his term from him – despite the fact that the optimal path of stopping Nigel Farage and Reform UK entering No 10 may be for Labour to replace its leader.

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

Upcoming Local Votes

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

True – up to a point. But even though he may be reluctant 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 step down, even if one of his colleagues challenged him for the job, if those elections prove very poor for Labour.

Promises of Improvement

He sought to explain his unpopularity by saying the voters was naturally anxious for things to get better. He aimed to persuade the interviewer, and the public, that this year would be a change.

The economic situation would improve despite rising unemployment, he said, when strategies the administration implemented during their first turbulent year began to show results.

• He vowed to shut asylum hotels ahead of the current target date of 2029, although he did not set a specific date on that.
• He added too, with the proviso that it was not a foregone conclusion, that a settlement in Ukraine felt a greater possibility now than at any time since Russia's comprehensive invasion.
• He revealed for the first time that Western partners were now discussing how to integrate US and European forces to provide security for Ukraine – to safeguard a potential peace.

His core message is that in 2026 the country will "reach a turning point".

Familiar Arguments

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

But despite encountering pressure from within his own party for a bolder approach, with greater political clarity, more urgency, more pace and more urgency, his points were familiar ones.

When he finds himself in such significant political difficulty, is a different approach required a different script?

No government, and especially not one that has been unpopular for many months, gets everything its own way.

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

Controversies and Dangers

The PM expressed regret that he regretted saying he was "happy" to welcome back the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK after an outcry when past remarks he'd made in the past – including calls for Zionists and police to be killed – came to light.

Sir Keir attributed it to "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 evident political risks as the year unfolds. His close relationship with the US president acquires a new risk after Trump's strikes on Venezuela.

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

Policy Stances and Pressures

He stated he was a "lifelong proponent of international law" but the public "just lack the complete details at the moment".

Critics called for him to denounce it before we spoke. And the administration is expected to face further scrutiny to give an definitive view in Parliament in the near future.

There has also consistently been simmering tension in the Labour ranks to revisit some of the outcomes of Brexit.

The PM disputes he's heading in that direction, but his new more concrete plan to integrate further with the single market – the giant economic European market – will probably elicit howls that he is breaking his promise never to try to overturn the decisions that stemmed from Brexit.

A decision to cosy up to more of the single market will satisfy some on his side of the party, but it is prime ammunition for Reform and the Conservatives to