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"I'll remain in the same seat by 2027," the Prime Minister stated, noting that if our discussion proceeded smoothly, he might welcome the interviewer into Number 10 for a follow-up conversation next year.

For a PM, there's rarely ever time off for those in the top job. Shortly before we sat down, Sir Keir had been speaking with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and trying to decipher precisely had occurred in Venezuela, where his key political chum, US President Donald Trump, had recently targeted and seized its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

Once our lengthy talk, which was considerably lengthier than typical, had concluded, Maduro had been formally accused in New York.

A Reboot for the New Year

But as the year commences, Sir Keir appears to have had something of a refresh. Perhaps even just a little downtime with his family at Chequers, the prime minister's country retreat.

This appeared to have resulted in improved morale than at the sluggish end of 2025, a dreadful annus horribilis for him.

But are he and his allies kidding themselves if they think his fortunes are poised to get better?

Internal Doubts

The harsh reality for the leader is that numerous of his fellow MPs are convinced he's underperforming at his job. A faction of them would sooner take a risk and oust him sooner rather than later.

However Starmer was dismissing such talk when we spoke on Saturday morning.

Repeatedly he told me 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 getting to No 10 could be for Labour to change its leader.

"This is the battle of our generation and I plan to be at the forefront," he declared.

Upcoming Local Votes

The problem for the prime minister is that he will be judged far sooner than then – in a mega set of elections in May across the UK. He attempted to contend, maybe excessively, that they are concerning who runs councils, and who runs the governments in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not a verdict on Westminster.

Accurate – up to a point. But even though 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 step down, should one of his colleagues contested his leadership for the job, should those elections be disastrous for Labour.

Promises of Improvement

He sought to explain his unpopularity by saying the public was naturally eager for things to improve. He aimed to persuade me, and the public, that 2026 would be different.

The economy would strengthen in the face of rising unemployment, he argued, when plans the administration enacted during their initial choppy year began to show results.

• 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 added too, with the caveat that it wasn't a done deal, that a peace deal in Ukraine felt more likely now than at any time since Russia's major invasion.
• He revealed for the first time that Western partners were now talking about how to integrate US and European forces to offer security for Ukraine – to safeguard a possible peace.

His central point is that in 2026 the country will "see an improvement".

Familiar Arguments

The PM may have communicated with more energy than observed from him for a some time – less tense, maybe, with a longer slot to talk.

But despite encountering calls from many directions for a bolder approach, with increased political clarity, more dynamism, more speed and more urgency, his arguments were repeated ones.

Given that he is in considerable political peril, should he consider a change of tack?

No government, and especially not one that has been unpopular for many months, gets everything its own way.

The Prime Minister's challenges are not only because government is difficult, but because he and his colleagues have faltered, including in the recent past.

Controversies and Dangers

The prime minister admitted that he was sorry for saying he was "happy" to see the return of the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK after an backlash when comments he'd made in the past – such as calls for Zionists and police to be killed – resurfaced.

Sir Keir attributed it to "the process" for not catching what the activist had said before – a fancier way of saying not my fault.

And he is inviting evident political risks as the year progresses. His friendship with the US president takes on a new risk after Trump's intervention on Venezuela.

Based on years of interviewing Sir Keir Starmer, a former human rights lawyer who opposed the war in Iraq, over a long period, the idea he would be content with these events seems unlikely.

Policy Stances and Pressures

He told me he was a "career-long proponent of international law" but we "simply do not have the entire story at the moment".

Critics demanded denounce it before we spoke. And the government is expected to face further scrutiny to give an clear view in Parliament in the near future.

There has also long been simmering pressure in the Labour party to reverse or renegotiate some of the outcomes of Brexit.

The PM disputes he's doing that, but his new firmer pledge to move closer with the EU's single market – the giant economic European trading zone – will likely elicit protests that he is breaking his vow never to try to reverse the choices 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