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"I'll be positioned in the same seat by 2027," Sir Keir Starmer stated, joking that if the discussion went well, he might invite us into Downing Street for a follow-up chat next year.

For a PM, there's never any time off for those in the top job. In the hour before the interview began, the PM had been speaking with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and attempting to understand precisely had transpired in Venezuela, where his key ally, US President Donald Trump, had recently launched a strike against and detained its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

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

A Reboot for the New Year

As the new year begins, the Prime Minister seems to have had a degree of a refresh. Maybe even just a little a rest with the family at Chequers, the prime minister's official country residence.

This seemed to have put him in better spirits than at the saggy conclusion of 2025, a dreadful political year for him.

Yet, are he and his supporters kidding themselves if they think his political fate are about to improve?

Party Concerns

The uncomfortable reality for the leader is that many of his party members are convinced he's not very good at his job. Some of them would rather take a risk and remove him this year.

But Starmer was having none of it when we spoke on Saturday morning.

On several occasions he stated he'd be "judged at the poll", maintaining nobody would strip his term from him – even if the most effective strategy of preventing Nigel Farage and Reform UK reaching No 10 might be for Labour to replace leader.

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

The Spring Test

The problem for the PM is that he will be assessed well ahead of then – in a mega set of elections in May throughout the UK. He tried to contend, perhaps too much, that they are concerning who runs councils, and who runs the devolved administrations in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not a verdict on Westminster.

Accurate – to some extent. But even though he may not want to concede it, No 10 will be evaluated by those elections too.

This did not stop Sir Keir stating that there were no circumstances under which he would resign, should one of his colleagues ran against him for the job, should those elections be catastrophic for Labour.

An Optimistic Outlook

He sought to explain his low poll ratings by saying the voters was naturally anxious for things to get better. He tried to assure me, and the nation, that the coming months would be a change.

The economy would recover notwithstanding rising unemployment, he claimed, when policies the administration put in place during their initial rocky year began to take effect.

• He committed to shut asylum hotels ahead of the current target date of 2029, but he did not put a firm date on that.
• He said too, with the qualification that it wasn't a foregone conclusion, that a peace agreement in Ukraine felt closer now than at any time since Russia's major invasion.
• He stated for the first occasion that Western partners were now talking about how to combine US and European forces to offer security for Ukraine – to guard a possible peace.

His big message is that this year the country will "reach a turning point".

A Consistent Script

The PM may have spoken with renewed vitality than observed from him for a while – less tense, perhaps, with a longer slot to talk.

However, in spite of encountering calls from various quarters for a more decisive strategy, with increased political direction, more vigour, more pace and more urgency, his arguments were repeated ones.

When he finds himself in this much political peril, does he need a new narrative?

No administration, and certainly not one that has been struggling in the polls for an extended period, gets everything its as desired.

Sir Keir's problems are not only because government is hard, but because he and his team have faltered, including in the recent past.

Regrets and Risks

The prime minister 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 backlash when statements he'd previously made – such as calls for Zionists and police to be killed – came to light.

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

And he is inviting clear political perils as the year progresses. His close relationship with the US president entails a new risk after Trump's intervention on Venezuela.

Having interviewed Sir Keir Starmer, a ex- human rights lawyer who opposed the war in Iraq, over many years, the notion he would be content with such action seems unlikely.

International Law and Brexit

He stated he was a "lifelong champion of international law" but the public "simply do not have the entire story at the moment".

Some demanded denounce it before we spoke. And the government is expected to face increased demands to give an definitive view in Parliament in the near future.

There has also long been simmering desire in the Labour party to reverse or renegotiate some of the outcomes of Brexit.

Sir Keir disputes he's pursuing that, but his new specific pledge to integrate further with the European trading bloc – the giant economic European market – will likely elicit howls that he is breaking his promise never to try to overturn the decisions that stemmed from Brexit.

A commitment to integrate into more of the single market will delight many on his own side, but it is easy fodder for Reform and the Conservatives to