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"I'll be sitting in the same position by 2027," the Prime Minister remarked, noting that if the conversation proceeded smoothly, he might welcome the interviewer into his official residence for another conversation in 2026.

For a PM, there's never truly break for those in the top job. Shortly before the interview began, the PM had been in calls with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and attempting to understand exactly what had happened in Venezuela, where his big friend, US President Donald Trump, had just targeted and seized its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

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

A Refresh for the New Year

But as the new year begins, the Prime Minister appears to have had a kind of a reboot. Maybe even just a little a rest with loved ones at Chequers, the prime minister's rural getaway.

That certainly seemed to have left him in improved morale than at the sluggish conclusion of 2025, a dreadful annus horribilis for him.

But are he and his colleagues deluding themselves if they believe his political fate are set to turn around?

Leadership Questions

The uncomfortable reality for the prime minister is that a significant number of his colleagues think he's not very good at his job. Some of them would rather gamble and oust him sooner rather than later.

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

Repeatedly he told me he'd be "judged at the general election", arguing nobody would strip his electoral mandate from him – even if the best chance of halting Nigel Farage and Reform UK entering No 10 could be for Labour to switch its leader.

"This is the battle of our lifetime and I intend to lead us," he affirmed.

The May Elections

The problem for the prime minister is that he will be assessed long before then – in a major set of elections in May throughout the UK. He sought to contend, maybe excessively, that they are concerning who runs councils, and who runs the governments in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not a verdict on Westminster.

True – up to a point. But even though he may be reluctant to admit it, No 10 will be held accountable by those elections too.

Despite this, Sir Keir suggesting that there were no circumstances under which he would step down, should one of his colleagues contested his leadership for the job, should those elections be very poor for Labour.

Predicting a Turnaround

He sought to account for his unpopularity by saying the electorate was understandably eager for things to improve. He aimed to convince the interviewer, and the nation, that this year would be different.

The economy would improve despite rising unemployment, he said, when plans the administration enacted during their first choppy year began to bear fruit.

• He vowed to empty asylum hotels before the current deadline of 2029, although he wouldn't set a firm date on that.
• He added too, with the proviso that it was not a certainty, that a peace agreement in Ukraine felt more likely now than at any point since Russia's comprehensive invasion.
• He revealed for the first occasion that Western partners were now discussing how to coordinate US and European forces to provide security for Ukraine – to guard a potential peace.

His core argument is that this year the country will "turn the corner".

Familiar Arguments

The prime minister may have communicated with more energy than observed from him for a some time – less tense, maybe, with more time to talk.

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

When he finds himself in considerable political peril, does he need a change of tack?

No government, and especially not one that has been unpopular for many months, has everything its as planned.

The Prime Minister's problems are not just because government is challenging, 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 "pleased" to see the return of the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK after an outcry when comments he'd previously made – including calls for Zionists and police to be killed – surfaced.

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

And he is courting clear political risks as the year gets going. His friendship with the US president entails a new complication after Trump's strikes 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 content with these events seems far-fetched.

International Law and Brexit

He asserted he was a "career-long proponent of international law" but the public "just do not have the entire story at the moment".

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

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

Sir Keir denies he's pursuing that, but his new more concrete plan to integrate further with the EU's single market – the giant economic European trading zone – will probably trigger accusations that he is going back on his promise never to try to reverse the choices that stemmed from Brexit.

A decision to align with more of the single market will satisfy some on his own side, but it is simple material for Reform and the Conservatives to