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"I'll remain in this position by 2027," Sir Keir Starmer remarked, adding that if our discussion proceeded smoothly, he might invite us into his official residence for another chat next year.

For a PM, there's rarely ever break for prime ministers. Just an hour before the interview began, Sir Keir had been speaking with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and trying to decipher exactly what had happened in Venezuela, where his key friend, US President Donald Trump, had just targeted and seized its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

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

A Reboot for the New Year

But as the year commences, Starmer appears to have had a degree of a revitalisation. Perhaps even just a bit of a rest with loved ones at Chequers, the prime minister's country retreat.

This appeared to have resulted in better spirits than at the difficult conclusion of 2025, a terrible political year for him.

Yet, are he and his supporters kidding themselves if they believe his standing are poised to turn around?

Leadership Questions

The grisly reality for the leader is that numerous of his colleagues are convinced he's ineffective at his job. Some of them would rather take a risk and remove him sooner rather than later.

But Starmer was rejecting the idea during our conversation on Saturday morning.

Repeatedly he insisted he'd be "judged at the poll", insisting no one would take his electoral mandate from him – despite the fact that the best chance of stopping Nigel Farage and Reform UK getting to No 10 might be for Labour to replace its leader.

"This is the fight of our lifetime and I plan to be at the forefront," he said.

The May Elections

The issue for the prime minister is that he will be scrutinised long before then – in a major set of elections in May across the UK. He tried to contend, perhaps too much, that they are about who runs local authorities, and who runs the governments in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not about Westminster.

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

Despite this, Sir Keir stating that there were no scenario under which he would step down, should one of his colleagues contested his leadership for the job, should those elections be very poor for Labour.

Predicting a Turnaround

He attempted to explain his unpopularity by saying the public was naturally impatient for things to change. He sought to convince me, and the nation, that 2026 would be a change.

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

• He pledged to shut asylum hotels ahead of the current deadline of 2029, but he wouldn't set a specific date on that.
• He added too, with the proviso that it was not a done deal, that a peace deal in Ukraine felt more likely now than at any time since Russia's full-scale invasion.
• He stated for the first time that Western allies were now considering how to integrate US and European forces to offer security for Ukraine – to safeguard a potential peace.

His central message is that soon the country will "reach a turning point".

Familiar Arguments

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

However, in spite of encountering pressure from many directions for a bolder approach, with greater political direction, more vigour, more speed and more immediacy, his arguments were well-known ones.

When he finds himself in considerable political trouble, is a different approach required a change of tack?

No administration, and certainly not one that has been struggling in the polls for an extended period, gets everything its as desired.

The Prime Minister's challenges are not just because governing is challenging, but because he and his team have faltered, including in the recent past.

Regrets and Risks

The prime minister admitted that he was sorry for 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 made in the past – including calls for Zionists and police to be killed – came to light.

Sir Keir attributed it to "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 inviting clear political dangers as the year gets going. His friendship with the US president acquires a new complication after Trump's strikes on Venezuela.

Having interviewed Sir Keir Starmer, a former human rights lawyer who was against the war in Iraq, over a long period, the thought he would be content with this kind of intervention seems unlikely.

Policy Stances and Pressures

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

Critics wanted him to condemn it prior to we spoke. And the government is expected to face more pressure to give an explicit view in Parliament in the near future.

And there has consistently been bubbling desire in the Labour party to revisit some of the consequences of Brexit.

The PM rejects he's pursuing that, but his new more concrete commitment to integrate further with the single market – the huge economic European trading zone – will probably provoke protests that he is breaking his promise never to try to overturn the decisions that followed Brexit.

A commitment to integrate into more of the single market will please many on his side of the party, but it is easy fodder for Reform and the Conservatives to