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"I'll remain in this position by 2027," Sir Keir Starmer declared, noting that if the interview went well, he might invite the interviewer into Downing Street for another talk next year.

There is never truly downtime for those in the top job. Shortly before our chat started, the PM had been speaking with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and attempting to decipher what on earth had happened in Venezuela, where his close political chum, US President Donald Trump, had just attacked and captured its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

When our lengthy talk, which was far more extended than normal, had ended, Maduro had been charged in New York.

A Reboot for the New Year

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

That certainly seemed to have resulted in better spirits than at the difficult conclusion of 2025, a terrible annus horribilis for him.

But are he and his colleagues being unrealistic if they believe his standing are about to turn around?

Internal Doubts

The uncomfortable reality for the leader is that a significant number of his party members think he's underperforming at his job. A faction of them would sooner gamble and remove him in 2026.

However Starmer was having none of it during our conversation on Saturday morning.

Multiple times he insisted he'd be "judged at the next election", insisting nobody would take his term from him – even if the best chance of stopping Nigel Farage and Reform UK getting to No 10 may be for Labour to change leader.

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

Upcoming Local Votes

The problem for the prime minister is that he will be assessed well ahead of then – in a huge set of elections in May across the UK. He sought to contend, perhaps excessively, that they are concerning who runs local authorities, and who runs the devolved administrations in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not a verdict on Westminster.

True – up to a point. But even though he may not want to acknowledge it, No 10 will be held accountable by those elections too.

Despite this, Sir Keir implying that there were no circumstances under which he would walk away, even if one of his MPs ran against him for the job, if those elections prove disastrous for Labour.

An Optimistic Outlook

He tried to account for his unpopularity by saying the voters was naturally anxious for things to change. He aimed to persuade the interviewer, and the public, that 2026 would be different.

The economy would improve in the face of rising unemployment, he argued, when plans the administration put in place during their first rocky year began to bear fruit.

• He vowed to close asylum hotels before the current target date of 2029, but he did not set a specific date on that.
• He noted too, with the proviso that it was not a certainty, that a settlement in Ukraine felt more likely now than at any point since Russia's full-scale invasion.
• He stated for the first occasion that Western allies were now considering how to combine US and European forces to ensure security for Ukraine – to protect a potential peace.

His central message is that this year the country will "turn the corner".

Familiar Arguments

The prime minister may have spoken with greater vigour than observed from him for a some time – calmer, maybe, with a longer slot to talk.

However, in spite of encountering demands from many directions for a more decisive strategy, with much more political vision, more dynamism, more speed and more immediacy, his points were familiar ones.

When he finds himself in such significant political difficulty, should he consider a change of tack?

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

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

Controversies and Dangers

The PM expressed regret that he regretted saying he was "pleased" 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 – surfaced.

Starmer blamed "procedures" for not realising what the activist had said before – a more diplomatic way of saying it wasn't his responsibility.

And he is facing clear political dangers as the year gets going. His alliance with the US president entails a new complication after Trump's military action on Venezuela.

Based on years of interviewing Sir Keir Starmer, a former human rights lawyer who was against the war in Iraq, over his career, the thought he would be comfortable with such action seems far-fetched.

Policy Stances and Pressures

He told me he was a "career-long proponent of international law" but the public "just do not have the complete details at the moment".

Critics demanded denounce it before we spoke. And the government is likely to face more pressure to give an clear view in Parliament in the near future.

There has also always been simmering pressure in the Labour ranks to undo or remake some of the outcomes of Brexit.

The PM denies he's heading in that direction, but his new more concrete plan to integrate further with the EU's single market – the vast economic European market – will likely provoke protests that he is breaking his vow never to try to undo the choices that flowed from Brexit.

A move to integrate into more of the single market will delight many on his side of the party, but it is prime ammunition for Reform and the Conservatives to