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"I will remain in the same position by 2027," Starmer stated, joking that if the conversation went well, he might welcome us into his official residence for another talk next year.

There is never truly time off for leaders. In the hour before our chat started, Sir Keir had been on the phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and trying to understand precisely had happened in Venezuela, where his big ally, US President Donald Trump, had recently attacked and captured its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

By the time our interview, which was far more extended than usual, had ended, Maduro had been charged in New York.

A Refresh for the New Year

But as the new year begins, the Prime Minister appears to have had a degree of a reboot. Maybe even just a little a rest with loved ones at Chequers, the prime minister's rural getaway.

That certainly appeared to have left him in a more positive mood than at the sluggish tail end of 2025, a dreadful political year for him.

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

Leadership Questions

The harsh reality for the PM is that many of his party members are convinced he's not very good at his job. Some of them would sooner gamble and get him out in 2026.

However Sir Keir was rejecting the idea in the interview on Saturday morning.

Multiple times he insisted he'd be "judged at the general election", maintaining nobody would remove his electoral mandate from him – even if the best chance of preventing Nigel Farage and Reform UK getting to No 10 might be for Labour to switch leader.

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

Upcoming Local Votes

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

Accurate – in part. But although he may not want to acknowledge it, No 10 will be held accountable by those elections too.

This did not stop Sir Keir implying that there were no situation under which he would step down, should a his MPs contested his leadership for the job, if those elections be very poor for Labour.

Predicting a Turnaround

He attempted to explain his low poll ratings by saying the electorate was naturally eager for things to improve. He sought to convince me, and the public, that 2026 would be distinct.

The economic situation would improve in the face of rising unemployment, he said, when strategies the administration implemented during their initial rocky year began to bear fruit.

• He vowed to close asylum hotels ahead of the current deadline of 2029, although he wouldn't put a firm date on that.
• He said too, with the caveat that it was not a certainty, that a peace deal in Ukraine felt more likely now than at any point since Russia's comprehensive invasion.
• He revealed for the first occasion that Western allies were now talking about how to coordinate US and European forces to ensure security for Ukraine – to guard a potential peace.

His core point is that soon the country will "see an improvement".

Familiar Arguments

The PM may have spoken with greater vigour than observed from him for a some time – less tense, maybe, with more time to talk.

But despite facing pressure from within his own party for a bolder approach, with greater political clarity, more dynamism, more speed and more urgency, his explanations were repeated ones.

Given that he is in considerable political difficulty, should he consider a new narrative?

No administration, and especially not one that has been struggling in the polls for many months, gets everything its as desired.

Sir Keir's problems are not just because governing is challenging, but because he and his team have faltered, including in the recent past.

Controversies and Dangers

The PM admitted that he regretted saying he was "delighted" to see the return of 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 – resurfaced.

Starmer blamed "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 facing obvious political dangers as the year unfolds. His close relationship with the US president takes on a new risk after Trump's intervention on Venezuela.

Based on years of interviewing Sir Keir Starmer, a ex- human rights lawyer who was against the war in Iraq, over many years, the notion he would be content with these events seems implausible.

Policy Stances and Pressures

He stated he was a "longtime advocate of international law" but we "just do not have the complete details at the moment".

Some demanded criticise the action prior to we spoke. And the administration is expected to face increased demands to give an explicit view in Parliament in the near future.

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

Sir Keir denies he's pursuing that, but his new more concrete plan to move closer with the EU's single market – the giant economic European trading zone – will likely trigger protests that he is reneging on his pledge never to try to reverse the decisions that flowed from Brexit.

A commitment to cosy up to more of the single market will satisfy some on his side of the party, but it is simple material for Reform and the Conservatives to