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"I'll be positioned in this office by 2027," Sir Keir Starmer declared, joking that if the discussion proceeded smoothly, he might invite us into Downing Street for another talk next year.

There is rarely ever break for those in the top job. Shortly before the interview began, Starmer had been in calls with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and trying to decipher exactly what had transpired in Venezuela, where his close political chum, US President Donald Trump, had recently targeted and seized its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

When our lengthy talk, which was much longer than typical, had ended, Maduro had been indicted in New York.

Renewed Energy for the New Year

But as the year starts, Starmer seems to have had something of a reboot. Perhaps even just some a rest with his family at Chequers, the prime minister's country retreat.

This seemed to have put him in a more positive mood than at the saggy conclusion of 2025, a dreadful year politically for him.

Yet, are he and his supporters deluding themselves if they reckon his political fate are poised to get better?

Internal Doubts

The grisly truth for the leader is that many of his colleagues believe he's underperforming at his job. Several of them would rather gamble and get him out in 2026.

However Starmer was dismissing such talk during our conversation on Saturday morning.

Repeatedly he stated he'd be "judged at the poll", arguing no one would take his five-year mandate from him – despite the fact that the optimal path of preventing Nigel Farage and Reform UK entering No 10 might be for Labour to replace its leader.

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

The May Elections

The issue for the PM 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, perhaps too much, that they are concerning who runs councils, and who runs the governments in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not about Westminster.

True – in part. But even though he may not want to acknowledge it, No 10 will be judged by those elections too.

Despite this, Sir Keir stating that there were no scenario under which he would resign, should one of his colleagues ran against him for the job, if those elections be disastrous for Labour.

An Optimistic Outlook

He sought to rationalise his low poll ratings by saying the electorate was naturally eager for things to get better. He tried to assure me, and the nation, that the coming months would be different.

The economy would recover notwithstanding rising unemployment, he claimed, when policies the government implemented during their initial turbulent year began to take effect.

• He vowed to shut asylum hotels ahead of the current target date of 2029, but he wouldn't set a new date on that.
• He noted too, with the proviso that it wasn't a certainty, that a peace agreement in Ukraine felt closer now than at any time since Russia's full-scale invasion.
• He disclosed for the first occasion that Western allies were now considering how to integrate US and European forces to offer security for Ukraine – to protect a possible peace.

His core argument is that soon the country will "turn the corner".

Familiar Arguments

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

However, in spite of encountering pressure from within his own party for a bolder approach, with increased political direction, more vigour, more speed and more urgency, his explanations were well-known ones.

When he finds himself in considerable political difficulty, should he consider a different script?

No administration, and certainly not one that has been struggling in the polls for many months, has everything its own way.

The Prime Minister's problems are not only because governing is hard, but because he and his team have faltered, including in the last few weeks.

Controversies and Dangers

The PM expressed regret that he was sorry for saying he was "delighted" to welcome back the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK following an outcry when statements he'd made in the past – including calls for Zionists and police to be killed – surfaced.

Sir Keir blamed "the system" for not realising what the activist had said before – a fancier way of saying not my fault.

And he is inviting clear political dangers as the year progresses. His alliance with the US president entails a new complication after Trump's strikes 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 such action seems implausible.

Policy Stances and Pressures

He stated he was a "lifelong proponent of international law" but the public "simply do not have the entire story at the moment".

Opponents called for him to condemn it before the interview. And the government is likely to face further scrutiny to give an clear view in Parliament in the near future.

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

The PM disputes he's heading in that direction, but his new firmer plan to integrate further with the European trading bloc – the giant economic European market – will probably elicit howls that he is breaking his pledge never to try to overturn the results that stemmed from Brexit.

A commitment to align with more of the single market will please many on his side of the party, but it is prime ammunition for Reform and the Conservatives to