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"I'll remain in the same position by 2027," Sir Keir Starmer declared, adding that if the discussion proceeded smoothly, he might welcome us into Downing Street for another chat next year.

For a PM, there's rarely ever downtime for those in the top job. Just an hour before our chat started, the PM had been in calls with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and attempting to decipher what on earth had transpired in Venezuela, where his close ally, US President Donald Trump, had just launched a strike against and detained its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

When our interview, which was considerably lengthier than usual, had concluded, Maduro had been formally accused in New York.

Renewed Energy for the New Year

But as the year starts, the Prime Minister seems to have had a kind of a reboot. Maybe even just some relaxation with loved ones at Chequers, the prime minister's rural getaway.

This appeared to have resulted in a more positive mood than at the saggy end of 2025, a dreadful political year for him.

But are he and his allies kidding themselves if they believe his fortunes are set to get better?

Party Concerns

The harsh truth for the PM is that a significant number of his fellow MPs think he's ineffective at his job. Some of them would rather gamble and get him out sooner rather than later.

But Starmer was having none of it during our conversation on Saturday morning.

On several occasions he insisted he'd be "assessed at the general election", arguing no one would strip his electoral mandate from him – even if the most effective strategy of halting Nigel Farage and Reform UK reaching No 10 might be for Labour to switch its leader.

"This is the fight of our times and I plan to be at the forefront," he affirmed.

The Spring Test

The challenge for the PM is that he will be judged long before then – in a mega set of elections in May across the UK. He attempted to contend, maybe too much, that they are concerning who runs local authorities, and who runs the governments in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not about Westminster.

Accurate – in part. But although he may be reluctant to acknowledge it, No 10 will be evaluated by those elections too.

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

Promises of Improvement

He attempted to rationalise his unpopularity by saying the electorate was understandably anxious for things to get better. He tried to persuade me, and the nation, that this year would be different.

The economy would strengthen notwithstanding rising unemployment, he argued, when policies the administration implemented during their initial turbulent year began to bear fruit.

• He pledged to empty asylum hotels before the current deadline of 2029, but he wouldn't set a specific date on that.
• He noted too, with the caveat that it wasn't a foregone conclusion, that a peace agreement in Ukraine felt closer now than at any point since Russia's comprehensive invasion.
• He disclosed for the first time that Western allies were now discussing how to combine US and European forces to offer security for Ukraine – to guard a possible peace.

His big point 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 some time – more relaxed, perhaps, with a longer slot to talk.

But despite facing calls from within his own party for a bolder strategy, with increased political direction, more vigour, more pace and more immediacy, his points were familiar ones.

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

No administration, and certainly not one that has been unpopular for many months, gets everything its as desired.

The Prime Minister's challenges are not only because governing is challenging, but because he and his colleagues have made mistakes, even in the recent past.

Regrets and Risks

The PM told me that he regretted saying he was "pleased" to welcome back the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK following an controversy when past remarks he'd made in the past – including calls for Zionists and police to be killed – surfaced.

Sir Keir attributed it to "the system" for failing to identify 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 unfolds. His close relationship with the US president entails a new risk after Trump's military action on Venezuela.

Having interviewed Sir Keir Starmer, a former human rights lawyer who opposed the war in Iraq, over a long period, the thought he would be content with this kind of intervention seems unlikely.

International Law and Brexit

He asserted he was a "lifelong champion of international law" but the public "simply do not have the full picture at the moment".

Some wanted him to criticise the action before we spoke. And the government is expected to face further scrutiny to give an clear view in Parliament in the coming days.

There has also always been bubbling pressure in the Labour ranks to undo or remake some of the consequences of Brexit.

The PM denies he's heading in that direction, but his new firmer commitment to align more closely with the EU's single market – the huge economic European trading zone – will likely provoke accusations that he is reneging on his vow never to try to reverse the decisions that flowed from Brexit.

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