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"I'll be positioned in this position by 2027," Sir Keir Starmer stated, adding that if our conversation went well, he might welcome us into his official residence for another talk in 2026.

There is never truly downtime for those in the top job. Shortly before our chat started, Sir Keir had been on the phone with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and attempting to decipher exactly what had occurred in Venezuela, where his big friend, US President Donald Trump, had just targeted and seized its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

Once our interview, which was far more extended than normal, had finished, Maduro had been charged in New York.

Renewed Energy for the New Year

With the new year begins, the Prime Minister seems to have had a kind of a refresh. Maybe even just a bit of downtime with the family at Chequers, the prime minister's country retreat.

That certainly appeared to have put him in improved morale than at the difficult conclusion of 2025, a awful annus horribilis for him.

But are he and his supporters deluding themselves if they believe his political fate are about to improve?

Internal Doubts

The harsh truth for the leader is that a significant number of his colleagues think he's not very good at his job. Some of them would rather take a risk and get him out in 2026.

However Starmer was having none of it in the interview on Saturday morning.

Repeatedly he told me he'd be "judged at the general election", insisting no one would strip his term from him – despite the fact that the most effective strategy of halting Nigel Farage and Reform UK getting to No 10 could be for Labour to switch leader.

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

Upcoming Local Votes

The challenge for the prime minister is that he will be assessed far sooner than then – in a mega set of elections in May across the UK. He attempted to protest, perhaps excessively, that they are about 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.

Despite this, Sir Keir stating that there were no scenario under which he would resign, even if a his colleagues contested his leadership for the job, if those elections be disastrous for Labour.

Predicting a Turnaround

He sought to rationalise his unpopularity by saying the electorate was understandably impatient for things to improve. He tried to convince the interviewer, and the public, that 2026 would be a change.

The economic situation would strengthen despite rising unemployment, he argued, when strategies the government implemented during their initial rocky year began to show results.

• He pledged to close asylum hotels ahead of the current target date of 2029, but he did not set a new date on that.
• He noted too, with the caveat that it wasn't a done deal, that a peace agreement in Ukraine felt more likely now than at any time since Russia's comprehensive invasion.
• He revealed for the first occasion that Western allies were now discussing how to coordinate US and European forces to ensure security for Ukraine – to guard a possible peace.

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

Political Challenges

The prime minister may have communicated with more energy than observed from him for a while – more relaxed, maybe, with a longer slot to talk.

But despite encountering demands from many directions for a more decisive approach, with much more political clarity, more urgency, more speed and more urgency, his arguments were well-known ones.

Given that he is in considerable political difficulty, does he need a change of tack?

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

The Prime Minister's challenges are not just because government is hard, but because he and his colleagues have faltered, including in the last few weeks.

Controversies and Dangers

The prime minister admitted that he was sorry for saying he was "pleased" to welcome back the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK following an outcry when past remarks he'd previously made – including calls for Zionists and police to be killed – resurfaced.

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 courting obvious political risks as the year gets going. His friendship with the US president takes on a new jeopardy after Trump's strikes on Venezuela.

Based on years of interviewing Sir Keir Starmer, a ex- human rights lawyer who opposed the war in Iraq, over his career, the thought he would be comfortable with such action seems unlikely.

International Law and Brexit

He stated he was a "lifelong champion of international law" but the public "simply lack the full picture at the moment".

Opponents demanded condemn it prior to we spoke. And the administration is expected to face more pressure to give an clear view in Parliament in the near future.

And there has always been growing tension in the Labour ranks to undo or remake some of the consequences of Brexit.

The PM denies he's doing that, but his new firmer commitment to move closer with the EU's single market – the giant economic European trading zone – will likely provoke accusations that he is going back on his pledge never to try to reverse the decisions that stemmed from Brexit.

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