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"I will be positioned in this seat by 2027," the Prime Minister stated, noting that if the conversation proceeded smoothly, he might invite the interviewer into Number 10 for a follow-up conversation in the coming year.

For a PM, there's never truly time off for prime ministers. Shortly before we sat down, the PM had been speaking with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and working to decipher what on earth had transpired in Venezuela, where his big political chum, US President Donald Trump, had recently attacked and captured its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

When our lengthy talk, which was considerably lengthier than usual, had ended, Maduro had been formally accused in New York.

Renewed Energy for the New Year

But as the year starts, the Prime Minister seems to have had something of a reboot. Perhaps even just a bit of a rest with loved ones at Chequers, the prime minister's country retreat.

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

Yet, are he and his supporters deluding themselves if they believe his fortunes are about to improve?

Leadership Questions

The uncomfortable reality for the leader is that a significant number of his colleagues think he's ineffective at his job. Several of them would rather gamble and get him out in 2026.

But Sir Keir was having none of it during our conversation on Saturday morning.

Repeatedly he told me he'd be "assessed at the poll", insisting no one would remove his five-year mandate from him – despite the fact that the optimal path of stopping Nigel Farage and Reform UK getting to No 10 could be for Labour to change its leader.

"We are in the battle of our lifetime and I intend to guide the party," he said.

The Spring Test

The problem for the prime minister is that he will be judged well ahead of then – in a huge set of elections in May across the UK. He attempted to contend, maybe excessively, that they are about who runs local authorities, and who runs the devolved administrations in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not about Westminster.

True – up to a point. But even though he may not want to admit it, No 10 will be held accountable by those elections too.

Despite this, Sir Keir implying that there were no scenario under which he would step down, should one of his MPs ran against him for the job, if those elections prove disastrous for Labour.

Predicting a Turnaround

He sought to account for his low poll ratings by saying the electorate was naturally anxious for things to improve. He tried to convince me, and the public, that this year would be distinct.

The economy would improve in the face of rising unemployment, he claimed, when strategies the government implemented during their initial turbulent year began to take effect.

• He vowed to close asylum hotels ahead of the current target date of 2029, but he wouldn't set a firm date on that.
• He said too, with the caveat that it was not a done deal, that a peace deal in Ukraine felt a greater possibility now than at any point since Russia's full-scale invasion.
• He stated for the first occasion that Western allies were now discussing how to integrate US and European forces to provide security for Ukraine – to protect a potential peace.

His core argument is that in 2026 the country will "turn the corner".

Political Challenges

The prime minister may have communicated 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 various quarters for a more decisive approach, with much more political clarity, more dynamism, more pace and more urgency, his points were repeated ones.

When he finds himself in this much political trouble, does he need a different script?

No government, and certainly not one that has been struggling in the polls for many months, has everything its as planned.

The Prime Minister's challenges are not just because government is hard, but because he and his colleagues have made mistakes, including in the recent past.

Controversies and Dangers

The PM expressed regret that he regretted saying he was "delighted" to see the return of the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK after an controversy when comments he'd made in the past – such as calls for Zionists and police to be killed – resurfaced.

Starmer blamed "the system" for not realising what the activist had said before – a fancier way of saying it wasn't his responsibility.

And he is facing obvious political perils as the year unfolds. His close relationship with the US president entails a new jeopardy after Trump's strikes on Venezuela.

Based on years of interviewing Sir Keir Starmer, a ex- human rights lawyer who was against the war in Iraq, over a long period, the idea he would be content with such action seems implausible.

Policy Stances and Pressures

He asserted he was a "longtime champion of international law" but we "simply lack the full picture at the moment".

Critics called for him to criticise the action before we spoke. And the government is expected to face more pressure to give an definitive view in Parliament in the next few days.

And there has long been simmering desire in the Labour ranks to undo or remake some of the consequences of Brexit.

The PM disputes he's heading in that direction, but his new specific plan to integrate further with the European trading bloc – the huge economic European market – will likely trigger howls that he is going back on his vow never to try to overturn the results that followed Brexit.

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