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"I'll be sitting in this position by 2027," Sir Keir Starmer stated, adding that if the discussion proceeded smoothly, he might invite the interviewer into Downing Street for a follow-up conversation in the coming year.

For a PM, there's never truly downtime for leaders. Shortly before the interview began, Starmer had been speaking with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and trying to work out what on earth had happened in Venezuela, where his close friend, US President Donald Trump, had recently launched a strike against and detained its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

When our interview, which was far more extended than typical, had ended, Maduro had been formally accused in New York.

Renewed Energy for the New Year

But as the year starts, Sir Keir seems to have had a degree of a refresh. Perhaps even just a bit of relaxation with loved ones at Chequers, the prime minister's official country residence.

That certainly seemed to have put him in improved morale than at the saggy conclusion of 2025, a dreadful annus horribilis for him.

Yet, are he and his colleagues being unrealistic if they believe his fortunes are set to turn around?

Leadership Questions

The grisly truth for the prime minister is that a significant number of his party members are convinced he's not very good at his job. A faction of them would sooner take a risk and get him out in 2026.

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

On several occasions he stated he'd be "judged at the general election", arguing nobody would remove his five-year mandate from him – despite the fact that the most effective strategy of halting Nigel Farage and Reform UK getting to No 10 might be for Labour to change leader.

"We are in the fight of our lifetime and I intend to be at the forefront," he declared.

Upcoming Local Votes

The problem for the PM is that he will be scrutinised long before then – in a mega set of elections in May throughout the UK. He attempted to argue, 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 – to some extent. But even though he may not want to acknowledge it, No 10 will be held accountable by those elections too.

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

An Optimistic Outlook

He sought to account for his unpopularity by saying the public was reasonably eager for things to change. He aimed to convince the interviewer, and the nation, that the coming months would be different.

The economy would strengthen notwithstanding rising unemployment, he claimed, when strategies the administration enacted during their first rocky year began to take effect.

• He vowed to empty asylum hotels before the current target date of 2029, although he wouldn't set a firm date on that.
• He said too, with the proviso that it wasn't a foregone conclusion, that a peace deal in Ukraine felt a greater possibility now than at any time since Russia's major invasion.
• He revealed for the first time that Western allies were now discussing how to combine US and European forces to ensure security for Ukraine – to guard a potential peace.

His central point is that in 2026 the country will "turn the corner".

A Consistent Script

The PM may have communicated with more energy than I've seen from him for a while – less tense, maybe, with more time to talk.

However, in spite of facing pressure from many directions for a bolder approach, with increased political direction, more dynamism, more speed and more immediacy, his explanations were well-known ones.

When he finds himself in this much political trouble, should he consider a different script?

No administration, and especially not one that has been unpopular for an extended period, has everything its as planned.

The Prime Minister's problems are not just because governing is hard, but because he and his team have erred, including 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 following an backlash when past remarks he'd previously made – including calls for Zionists and police to be killed – resurfaced.

Starmer blamed "the system" for not catching what the activist had said before – a fancier way of saying it wasn't his responsibility.

And he is courting obvious political perils as the year unfolds. His friendship with the US president acquires a new risk after Trump's military action on Venezuela.

Having interviewed Sir Keir Starmer, a former human rights lawyer who was against the war in Iraq, over his career, the notion he would be content with this kind of intervention seems far-fetched.

International Law and Brexit

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

Critics called for him to condemn it prior to we spoke. And the administration is likely to face increased demands to give an clear view in Parliament in the next few days.

There has also consistently been bubbling tension in the Labour party to undo or remake some of the results of Brexit.

The PM disputes he's pursuing that, but his new firmer pledge to integrate further with the European trading bloc – the huge economic European market – will probably trigger protests that he is breaking his promise never to try to undo the results that flowed from Brexit.

A move to integrate into more of the single market will delight some on his backbenches, but it is easy fodder for Reform and the Conservatives to