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"I'll remain in the same position by 2027," the Prime Minister stated, joking that if our discussion proceeded smoothly, he might welcome us into his official residence for a follow-up conversation next year.

There is rarely ever time off for those in the top job. Shortly before the interview began, Sir Keir had been on the phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and attempting to decipher precisely had happened in Venezuela, where his key friend, US President Donald Trump, had recently targeted and seized its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

Once our lengthy talk, which was far more extended than normal, had concluded, Maduro had been charged in New York.

A Refresh for the New Year

But as the new year begins, Sir Keir seems to have had something of a refresh. Perhaps even just some downtime with loved ones at Chequers, the prime minister's rural getaway.

This appeared to have resulted in improved morale than at the saggy end of 2025, a dreadful year politically for him.

Yet, are he and his colleagues being unrealistic if they believe his political fate are poised to get better?

Leadership Questions

The harsh reality for the leader is that a significant number of his fellow MPs believe he's underperforming at his job. Several of them would rather gamble and get him out this year.

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

Repeatedly he stated he'd be "evaluated at the general election", arguing nobody would strip his term from him – despite the fact that the most effective strategy of halting Nigel Farage and Reform UK entering No 10 may be for Labour to switch leader.

"We are in the fight of our lifetime and I plan to lead us," he declared.

Upcoming Local Votes

The challenge for the PM is that he will be scrutinised well ahead of then – in a major set of elections in May throughout the UK. He tried to protest, maybe excessively, that they are concerning who runs councils, and who runs the governments in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not a verdict on Westminster.

Accurate – to some extent. But even though he may be reluctant to acknowledge it, No 10 will be evaluated by those elections too.

This did not stop Sir Keir implying that there were no situation under which he would step down, even if a his MPs challenged him for the job, if those elections prove disastrous for Labour.

Promises of Improvement

He attempted to rationalise his low poll ratings by saying the electorate was understandably eager for things to improve. He tried to assure me, and the public, that the coming months would be distinct.

The economy would recover notwithstanding rising unemployment, he claimed, when plans the administration put in place during their initial rocky year began to bear fruit.

• He vowed to empty asylum hotels before the current deadline of 2029, but he wouldn't set a specific date on that.
• He noted too, with the qualification that it was not a certainty, that a settlement 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 discussing how to integrate US and European forces to offer security for Ukraine – to guard a possible peace.

His big argument is that this year the country will "reach a turning point".

A Consistent Script

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

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

When he finds himself in such significant political peril, should he consider a different script?

No government, and certainly not one that has been unpopular for an extended period, has everything its as desired.

Sir Keir's problems are not just because governing is challenging, but because he and his colleagues 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 following an controversy when comments he'd made in the past – including calls for Zionists and police to be killed – surfaced.

Sir Keir attributed it to "procedures" 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 progresses. His alliance with the US president acquires a new risk after Trump's strikes on Venezuela.

Based on years of interviewing Sir Keir Starmer, a ex- human rights lawyer who opposed the war in Iraq, over many years, the notion he would be content with such action seems far-fetched.

International Law and Brexit

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

Some demanded criticise the action prior to we spoke. And the government is expected to face increased demands to give an definitive view in Parliament in the coming days.

And there has always been growing tension in the Labour party to revisit some of the outcomes of Brexit.

The PM disputes he's heading in that direction, but his new specific pledge to move closer with the EU's single market – the vast economic European trading zone – will likely elicit howls that he is breaking his vow never to try to reverse the choices that stemmed from Brexit.

A move to cosy up to more of the single market will please some on his own side, but it is simple material for Reform and the Conservatives to