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"I will remain in the same seat by 2027," Starmer declared, joking that if our conversation proceeded smoothly, he might invite the interviewer into his official residence for another chat in the coming year.

For a PM, there's never any downtime for those in the top job. Shortly before the interview began, Sir Keir had been on the phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and working to understand precisely had transpired in Venezuela, where his close political chum, US President Donald Trump, had just targeted and seized its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

Once our interview, which was far more extended than usual, had concluded, Maduro had been charged in New York.

A Refresh for the New Year

But as the year starts, Sir Keir seems to have had a degree of a refresh. Perhaps even just a little a rest with loved ones at Chequers, the prime minister's official country residence.

That certainly appeared to have put him in a more positive mood than at the difficult end of 2025, a terrible year politically for him.

Yet, are he and his supporters deluding themselves if they think his fortunes are about to get better?

Party Concerns

The uncomfortable truth for the PM is that many of his colleagues are convinced he's not very good at his job. Some of them would sooner gamble and get him out this year.

However Sir Keir was rejecting the idea during our conversation on Saturday morning.

On several occasions he told me he'd be "assessed at the general election", arguing nobody would remove his five-year mandate from him – even if the most effective strategy of preventing Nigel Farage and Reform UK getting to No 10 might be for Labour to replace its leader.

"This is the struggle of our lifetime and I plan to guide the party," he affirmed.

Upcoming Local Votes

The issue for the PM is that he will be scrutinised well ahead of then – in a mega set of elections in May across the UK. He attempted to protest, maybe excessively, that they are concerning who runs local authorities, and who runs the devolved administrations in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not a verdict on Westminster.

Accurate – up to a point. But although he may be reluctant to admit it, No 10 will be judged by those elections too.

This did not stop Sir Keir suggesting that there were no circumstances under which he would resign, even if one of his colleagues challenged him for the job, should those elections be disastrous for Labour.

Promises of Improvement

He sought to explain his low poll ratings by saying the voters was understandably impatient for things to change. He sought to convince the interviewer, and the nation, that this year would be different.

The economy would improve despite rising unemployment, he argued, when plans the administration enacted during their first turbulent year began to take effect.

• He committed to close asylum hotels before the current target date of 2029, but he did not set a specific date on that.
• He noted too, with the qualification that it was not a done deal, that a peace agreement in Ukraine felt closer now than at any time since Russia's major invasion.
• He stated for the first time that Western partners were now discussing how to integrate US and European forces to ensure security for Ukraine – to safeguard a potential peace.

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

Political Challenges

The PM may have communicated with greater vigour than I've seen from him for a while – calmer, maybe, with a longer slot to talk.

However, in spite of encountering pressure from many directions for a more decisive approach, with greater political direction, more vigour, more pace and more urgency, his arguments were repeated ones.

Given that he is in this much political trouble, is a different approach required a change of tack?

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

Sir Keir's problems are not just because government is challenging, but because he and his team have faltered, even in the recent past.

Controversies and Dangers

The PM expressed regret that he was sorry for saying he was "pleased" to welcome back the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK after an controversy when comments he'd made in the past – including calls for Zionists and police to be killed – resurfaced.

Sir Keir blamed "procedures" for not catching what the activist had said before – a more diplomatic way of saying not my fault.

And he is inviting clear political risks as the year progresses. His friendship with the US president takes on a new risk after Trump's intervention on Venezuela.

Based on years of interviewing Sir Keir Starmer, a former human rights lawyer who opposed the war in Iraq, over many years, the idea he would be at ease with such action seems unlikely.

International Law and Brexit

He stated he was a "longtime advocate of international law" but the public "just lack the entire story at the moment".

Some wanted him to criticise the action prior to the interview. And the government is expected to face more pressure to give an clear view in Parliament in the next few days.

And there has long been bubbling desire in the Labour party to reverse or renegotiate some of the outcomes of Brexit.

The PM rejects he's doing that, but his new specific commitment to integrate further with the European trading bloc – the giant economic European trading zone – will likely provoke accusations that he is breaking his pledge never to try to undo the choices that followed Brexit.

A commitment to cosy up to more of the single market will satisfy some on his backbenches, but it is simple material for Reform and the Conservatives to