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"I'll be positioned in the same seat by 2027," Sir Keir Starmer stated, adding that if our conversation proceeded smoothly, he might invite us into his official residence for a follow-up chat next year.

For a PM, there's never truly downtime for prime ministers. In the hour before our chat started, the PM had been speaking with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and trying to understand what on earth had occurred in Venezuela, where his key political chum, US President Donald Trump, had just targeted and seized its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

When the discussion, which was considerably lengthier than normal, had ended, Maduro had been formally accused in New York.

A Reboot for the New Year

But as the year starts, the Prime Minister appears to have had something of a refresh. Perhaps even just a bit of a rest with the family at Chequers, the prime minister's country retreat.

That certainly appeared to have resulted in better spirits than at the difficult end of 2025, a dreadful annus horribilis for him.

Yet, are he and his allies being unrealistic if they believe his fortunes are set to get better?

Leadership Questions

The uncomfortable truth for the prime minister is that many of his fellow MPs believe he's not very good at his job. Several of them would sooner gamble and oust him in 2026.

But Sir Keir was having none of it in the interview on Saturday morning.

On several occasions he told me he'd be "assessed at the next election", maintaining nobody would strip his five-year mandate from him – even if the best chance of halting Nigel Farage and Reform UK getting to No 10 may be for Labour to replace leader.

"This is the battle of our lifetime and I aim to be at the forefront," he affirmed.

The May Elections

The problem 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 sought to contend, perhaps excessively, that they are concerning who runs councils, and who runs the devolved administrations in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not a verdict on Westminster.

Accurate – in part. But even though he may not want to concede it, No 10 will be evaluated by those elections too.

Despite this, Sir Keir implying that there were no circumstances under which he would resign, even if one of his MPs challenged him for the job, should those elections be very poor for Labour.

An Optimistic Outlook

He tried to explain his low poll ratings by saying the public was understandably eager for things to change. He sought to persuade the interviewer, and the nation, that this year would be different.

The economic situation would strengthen despite rising unemployment, he claimed, when policies the government implemented during their initial rocky year began to show results.

• He committed to shut asylum hotels ahead of the current target date of 2029, but he wouldn't set a firm date on that.
• He added too, with the qualification that it wasn't a done deal, 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 talking about how to combine US and European forces to ensure security for Ukraine – to guard a possible peace.

His big argument is that in 2026 the country will "see an improvement".

A Consistent Script

The PM may have communicated with greater vigour than I've seen from him for a some time – more relaxed, maybe, with a longer slot to talk.

However, in spite of encountering pressure from various quarters for a more decisive strategy, with greater political clarity, more urgency, more pace and more urgency, his arguments were repeated ones.

Given that he is in this much political trouble, does he need a different script?

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

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

Controversies and Dangers

The prime minister expressed regret that he regretted saying he was "delighted" to welcome back the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK following an outcry when past remarks he'd previously made – such as calls for Zionists and police to be killed – came to light.

Starmer blamed "the system" for failing to identify what the activist had said before – a fancier way of saying not my fault.

And he is facing obvious political risks as the year gets going. His alliance with the US president acquires a new complication after Trump's strikes on Venezuela.

Having interviewed Sir Keir Starmer, a ex- human rights lawyer who opposed the war in Iraq, over a long period, 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 "just do not have the complete details at the moment".

Opponents wanted him to condemn it prior to we spoke. And the administration is likely to face increased demands to give an explicit view in Parliament in the next few days.

And there has consistently been growing tension in the Labour ranks to undo or remake some of the results of Brexit.

The PM rejects he's doing that, but his new firmer commitment to align more closely with the European trading bloc – the vast economic European market – will probably provoke accusations that he is reneging on his pledge never to try to undo the choices that followed Brexit.

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