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"I'll remain in this seat by 2027," the Prime Minister declared, joking that if the conversation was successful, he might invite us into Downing Street for another conversation in the coming year.

For a PM, there's never any break for those in the top job. Shortly before the interview began, Sir Keir had been on the phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and working to understand what on earth had happened in Venezuela, where his big friend, US President Donald Trump, had recently targeted and seized its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

When our lengthy talk, which was much longer than usual, had ended, Maduro had been formally accused in New York.

Renewed Energy for the New Year

With the year starts, Sir Keir seems to have had a kind of a reboot. Perhaps even just some downtime with his family at Chequers, the prime minister's country retreat.

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

Yet, are he and his allies kidding themselves if they believe his fortunes are poised to get better?

Party Concerns

The uncomfortable reality for the leader is that numerous of his fellow MPs think he's ineffective at his job. Some of them would sooner gamble and oust him this year.

But Sir Keir was dismissing such talk during our conversation on Saturday morning.

Repeatedly he stated he'd be "judged at the general election", maintaining nobody would strip his term from him – even if the optimal path of preventing Nigel Farage and Reform UK reaching No 10 might be for Labour to switch its leader.

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

The Spring Test

The problem for the prime minister is that he will be assessed far sooner than then – in a mega set of elections in May throughout the UK. He attempted to argue, maybe excessively, that they are concerning who runs local authorities, and who runs the devolved administrations in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not about Westminster.

Accurate – to some extent. But although he may be reluctant to concede it, No 10 will be held accountable by those elections too.

This did not stop Sir Keir stating that there were no situation under which he would walk away, should a his colleagues challenged him for the job, if those elections prove disastrous for Labour.

Predicting a Turnaround

He tried to explain his low poll ratings by saying the electorate was naturally anxious for things to get better. He aimed to convince me, and the public, that the coming months would be a change.

The economy would improve in the face of rising unemployment, he claimed, when plans the administration enacted during their first choppy year began to bear fruit.

• He pledged to empty asylum hotels ahead of the current target date of 2029, although he did not set a specific date on that.
• He added too, with the qualification that it was not a done deal, that a peace deal in Ukraine felt a greater possibility now than at any time since Russia's major invasion.
• He disclosed for the first time that Western partners were now considering how to coordinate US and European forces to provide security for Ukraine – to protect a possible peace.

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

Political Challenges

The PM may have spoken with renewed vitality than I've seen from him for a some time – more relaxed, perhaps, with more time to talk.

But despite facing pressure from within his own party for a more decisive strategy, with greater political direction, more vigour, more speed and more urgency, his points were repeated ones.

When he finds himself in such significant political peril, does he need a different script?

No government, and especially not one that has been struggling in the polls for an extended period, gets everything its own way.

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

Regrets and Risks

The prime minister admitted 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 outcry when past remarks he'd made in the past – including calls for Zionists and police to be killed – came to light.

Starmer attributed it to "the process" for not catching what the activist had said before – a more diplomatic way of saying not my fault.

And he is facing evident political dangers as the year gets going. His alliance with the US president entails a new risk after Trump's military action on Venezuela.

Having interviewed Sir Keir Starmer, a ex- human rights lawyer who was against the war in Iraq, over many years, the thought he would be comfortable with such action seems implausible.

Policy Stances and Pressures

He stated he was a "lifelong proponent of international law" but we "simply lack the complete details at the moment".

Opponents called for him to denounce it prior to we spoke. And the government is expected to face further scrutiny to give an explicit view in Parliament in the near future.

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

Sir Keir disputes he's pursuing that, but his new firmer plan to integrate further with the EU's single market – the huge economic European trading zone – will probably provoke accusations that he is reneging on his promise never to try to undo the choices that flowed from Brexit.

A commitment to cosy up to 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