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"I will be sitting in this position by 2027," the Prime Minister stated, joking that if the interview proceeded smoothly, he might invite us into his official residence for another chat in 2026.

For a PM, there's rarely ever time off for those in the top job. Shortly before the interview began, Starmer had been in calls with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and working to decipher precisely had occurred in Venezuela, where his key political chum, US President Donald Trump, had recently targeted and seized its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

When our interview, which was far more extended than usual, had finished, Maduro had been indicted in New York.

Renewed Energy for the New Year

But as the year commences, the Prime Minister appears to have had a degree of a refresh. Maybe even just a bit of downtime with loved ones at Chequers, the prime minister's official country residence.

This seemed to have left him in better spirits than at the sluggish conclusion of 2025, a dreadful annus horribilis for him.

But are he and his allies being unrealistic if they reckon his fortunes are about to improve?

Party Concerns

The harsh reality for the prime minister is that many of his party members think he's not very good at his job. Some of them would rather take a risk and get him out sooner rather than later.

However Starmer was dismissing such talk when we spoke on Saturday morning.

Multiple times he stated he'd be "judged at the general election", maintaining no one would take his term from him – despite the fact that the optimal path of halting Nigel Farage and Reform UK reaching No 10 may be for Labour to change leader.

"This is the struggle of our generation and I intend to guide the party," he said.

The Spring Test

The issue for the prime minister is that he will be judged long before then – in a huge set of elections in May across the UK. He sought to protest, perhaps excessively, that they are about 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 even though he may be reluctant to acknowledge it, No 10 will be held accountable by those elections too.

This did not stop Sir Keir implying that there were no circumstances under which he would step down, even if one of his MPs contested his leadership for the job, should those elections prove catastrophic for Labour.

Promises of Improvement

He tried to account for his low poll ratings by saying the public was naturally anxious for things to change. He aimed to persuade me, and the nation, that 2026 would be a change.

The economic situation would strengthen despite rising unemployment, he said, when policies the administration enacted during their first choppy year began to bear fruit.

• He vowed to empty asylum hotels before the current deadline of 2029, but he wouldn't put a specific date on that.
• He said too, with the qualification that it was not a foregone conclusion, that a peace deal in Ukraine felt a greater possibility now than at any time since Russia's full-scale invasion.
• He revealed for the first time that Western allies were now discussing how to combine US and European forces to offer security for Ukraine – to protect a potential peace.

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

Political Challenges

The PM may have communicated with greater vigour than observed from him for a some time – less tense, maybe, with more time to talk.

But despite encountering demands from various quarters for a more decisive approach, with increased political clarity, more urgency, more speed and more urgency, his points were familiar ones.

When he finds himself in this much political difficulty, should he consider a different script?

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

Sir Keir's challenges are not only because governing is challenging, but because he and his team have faltered, even in the last few weeks.

Regrets and Risks

The prime minister told me 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 backlash 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 not realising what the activist had said before – a fancier way of saying it wasn't his responsibility.

And he is inviting obvious political perils as the year gets going. His alliance with the US president takes on a new jeopardy after Trump's intervention on Venezuela.

Having interviewed Sir Keir Starmer, a ex- human rights lawyer who was against the war in Iraq, over a long period, the notion he would be content with such action seems implausible.

Policy Stances and Pressures

He asserted he was a "career-long proponent of international law" but the public "simply haven't got the entire story at the moment".

Critics called for him to condemn it before the interview. And the government is expected to face increased demands to give an clear view in Parliament in the coming days.

There has also consistently been simmering pressure in the Labour party to undo or remake some of the results of Brexit.

The PM rejects 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 probably trigger protests that he is breaking his promise never to try to reverse the choices that stemmed from Brexit.

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