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"I will remain in this position by 2027," Sir Keir Starmer stated, adding that if the discussion went well, he might invite the interviewer into his official residence for a follow-up conversation next year.

There is rarely ever downtime for leaders. In the hour before we sat down, the PM had been on the phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and attempting to understand exactly what had occurred in Venezuela, where his close political chum, US President Donald Trump, had recently attacked and captured its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

Once the discussion, which was considerably lengthier than typical, had finished, Maduro had been indicted in New York.

Renewed Energy for the New Year

As the year commences, Starmer appears to have had a degree of a revitalisation. Maybe even just some relaxation with loved ones at Chequers, the prime minister's rural getaway.

That certainly appeared to have left him in better spirits than at the saggy conclusion of 2025, a awful annus horribilis for him.

But are he and his supporters being unrealistic if they think his fortunes are set to turn around?

Internal Doubts

The uncomfortable truth for the leader is that a significant number of his party members are convinced he's ineffective at his job. Some of them would sooner take a risk and oust him this year.

However Starmer was rejecting the idea when we spoke on Saturday morning.

Repeatedly he stated he'd be "assessed at the general election", insisting no one would remove his five-year mandate from him – despite the fact that the most effective strategy of preventing Nigel Farage and Reform UK entering No 10 might be for Labour to replace its leader.

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

The May Elections

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

Accurate – to some extent. But although he may be reluctant to acknowledge it, No 10 will be held accountable by those elections too.

Despite this, Sir Keir stating that there were no situation under which he would step down, should a his colleagues ran against him for the job, if those elections prove catastrophic for Labour.

An Optimistic Outlook

He attempted to rationalise his low poll ratings by saying the voters was understandably impatient for things to improve. He tried to assure the interviewer, and the nation, that 2026 would be distinct.

The economy would improve despite rising unemployment, he claimed, when policies the government implemented during their first choppy year began to show results.

• He committed to empty asylum hotels before the current deadline of 2029, although he wouldn't set a new date on that.
• He said too, with the proviso that it wasn't a done deal, that a peace agreement in Ukraine felt closer now than at any time since Russia's major invasion.
• He revealed for the first occasion that Western allies were now considering how to integrate US and European forces to offer security for Ukraine – to guard a possible peace.

His central message is that in 2026 the country will "turn the corner".

Familiar Arguments

The prime minister may have spoken with greater vigour than observed from him for a some time – more relaxed, maybe, with a longer slot to talk.

But despite facing calls from many directions for a bolder approach, with increased political clarity, more dynamism, more speed and more urgency, his arguments were repeated ones.

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

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

The Prime Minister's problems are not just because government is hard, but because he and his team have made mistakes, even in the last few weeks.

Regrets and Risks

The prime minister told me that he was sorry for saying he was "pleased" to see the return of the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK following an outcry when past remarks he'd made in the past – including calls for Zionists and police to be killed – resurfaced.

Starmer 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 risks as the year unfolds. His friendship with the US president takes on a new complication after Trump's strikes on Venezuela.

Having interviewed Sir Keir Starmer, a ex- human rights lawyer who opposed the war in Iraq, over a long period, the thought he would be at ease with such action seems unlikely.

International Law and Brexit

He asserted he was a "longtime advocate of international law" but the public "simply do not have the complete details at the moment".

Some called for him to criticise the action prior to the interview. And the government is likely to face further scrutiny to give an definitive view in Parliament in the coming days.

And there has always been simmering pressure in the Labour ranks to undo or remake some of the results of Brexit.

Sir Keir rejects he's doing that, but his new more concrete pledge to integrate further with the single market – the huge economic European trading zone – will probably provoke howls that he is going back on his pledge never to try to undo the decisions that followed Brexit.

A move to align with more of the single market will delight a faction on his backbenches, but it is simple material for Reform and the Conservatives to