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"I'll be positioned in this position by 2027," Starmer remarked, adding that if our conversation proceeded smoothly, he might invite us into his official residence for another conversation in 2026.

There is rarely ever downtime for those in the top job. Shortly before our chat started, Starmer had been in calls with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and trying to understand exactly what had occurred in Venezuela, where his close friend, US President Donald Trump, had recently targeted and seized its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

When the discussion, which was considerably lengthier than normal, had ended, Maduro had been formally accused in New York.

Renewed Energy for the New Year

As the new year begins, the Prime Minister seems to have had something of a reboot. Perhaps even just some downtime with the family at Chequers, the prime minister's country retreat.

That certainly appeared to have resulted in improved morale than at the sluggish tail end of 2025, a terrible year politically for him.

Yet, are he and his allies kidding themselves if they reckon his fortunes are set to turn around?

Party Concerns

The uncomfortable truth for the PM is that a significant number of his party members believe he's underperforming at his job. Some of them would sooner take a risk and remove him sooner rather than later.

But Sir Keir was dismissing such talk when we spoke on Saturday morning.

Repeatedly he told me he'd be "judged at the poll", maintaining nobody would strip his electoral mandate from him – despite the fact that the most effective strategy of preventing Nigel Farage and Reform UK getting to No 10 could be for Labour to change its leader.

"This is the fight of our lifetime and I intend to guide the party," he declared.

The Spring Test

The issue for the PM is that he will be assessed well ahead of then – in a huge set of elections in May throughout the UK. He attempted to argue, maybe excessively, that they are about who runs councils, and who runs the governments in Holyrood or Cardiff – and unrelated to Westminster.

True – to some extent. But although he may not want to admit it, No 10 will be held accountable by those elections too.

Despite this, Sir Keir stating that there were no circumstances under which he would resign, should one of his colleagues challenged him for the job, should those elections be disastrous for Labour.

Promises of Improvement

He attempted to explain his low poll ratings by saying the public was understandably eager for things to improve. He tried to convince the interviewer, and the nation, that 2026 would be distinct.

The economic situation would improve despite rising unemployment, he said, when plans the administration put in place during their first choppy year began to take effect.

• He committed to close asylum hotels before the current target date of 2029, but he wouldn't put a new date on that.
• He added too, with the proviso that it was not a certainty, that a settlement in Ukraine felt closer now than at any point since Russia's comprehensive invasion.
• He stated for the first time that Western allies were now considering how to combine US and European forces to ensure security for Ukraine – to safeguard a possible peace.

His big message is that soon the country will "turn the corner".

Political Challenges

The prime minister may have spoken with greater vigour than I've seen from him for a some time – less tense, maybe, with more time to talk.

But despite facing demands from various quarters for a more decisive strategy, with greater political vision, more urgency, more speed and more urgency, his explanations were well-known ones.

When he finds himself in this much political difficulty, should he consider a new narrative?

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

The Prime Minister's problems are not just because governing is difficult, but because he and his team have erred, even in the recent past.

Regrets and Risks

The prime minister admitted that he was sorry for saying he was "happy" to welcome back the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK following an controversy when statements he'd previously made – such as calls for Zionists and police to be killed – came to light.

Sir Keir blamed "the process" for not catching what the activist had said before – a more diplomatic way of saying not my fault.

And he is courting obvious political dangers as the year progresses. His close relationship 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 opposed the war in Iraq, over a long period, the idea he would be at ease with this kind of intervention seems unlikely.

Policy Stances and Pressures

He told me he was a "lifelong advocate of international law" but we "simply do not have the complete details at the moment".

Opponents wanted him to denounce it before we spoke. And the government is likely to face further scrutiny to give an clear view in Parliament in the next few days.

There has also long been bubbling desire in the Labour party to undo or remake some of the consequences of Brexit.

The PM denies he's doing that, but his new firmer plan to move closer with the European trading bloc – the giant economic European market – will probably elicit protests that he is going back on his promise never to try to overturn the decisions that stemmed from Brexit.

A decision to align with more of the single market will please a faction on his own side, but it is easy fodder for Reform and the Conservatives to