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"I'll be positioned in this position by 2027," Sir Keir Starmer remarked, adding that if the conversation went well, he might invite us into Number 10 for a follow-up talk in 2026.

For a PM, there's never truly break for prime ministers. Shortly before we sat down, Starmer had been speaking with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and attempting to work out what on earth had transpired in Venezuela, where his big ally, US President Donald Trump, had just targeted and seized its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

By the time the discussion, which was considerably lengthier than normal, had ended, Maduro had been charged in New York.

Renewed Energy for the New Year

With the year commences, Sir Keir appears to have had something of a refresh. Maybe even just a little relaxation with his family at Chequers, the prime minister's rural getaway.

That certainly seemed to have put him in better spirits than at the sluggish end of 2025, a awful annus horribilis for him.

But are he and his supporters kidding themselves if they think his fortunes are set to turn around?

Internal Doubts

The grisly reality for the prime minister is that numerous of his fellow MPs believe he's not very good at his job. Several of them would rather gamble and remove him this year.

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

Multiple times he stated he'd be "assessed at the next election", maintaining no one would strip his electoral mandate from him – even if the best chance of preventing Nigel Farage and Reform UK reaching No 10 might be for Labour to switch leader.

"We are in the battle of our lifetime and I plan to lead us," he said.

Upcoming Local Votes

The challenge for the prime minister is that he will be judged well ahead of then – in a major set of elections in May throughout the UK. He tried to protest, perhaps too much, 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 although he may not want to admit it, No 10 will be evaluated by those elections too.

Despite this, Sir Keir suggesting that there were no situation under which he would resign, even if one of his colleagues ran against him for the job, if those elections be very poor for Labour.

An Optimistic Outlook

He tried to rationalise his unpopularity by saying the electorate was reasonably eager for things to get better. He tried to assure me, and the nation, that this year would be different.

The economy would recover in the face of rising unemployment, he claimed, when plans the government put in place during their initial rocky year began to take effect.

• He vowed to close asylum hotels before the current deadline of 2029, but he did not set a firm 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 point since Russia's comprehensive invasion.
• He revealed for the first time that Western partners were now talking about how to combine US and European forces to ensure security for Ukraine – to guard a potential peace.

His core argument is that in 2026 the country will "reach a turning point".

Political Challenges

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

However, in spite of facing pressure from within his own party for a more decisive strategy, with much more political direction, more urgency, more speed and more urgency, his explanations were repeated ones.

When he finds himself in considerable political difficulty, does he need a new narrative?

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

Sir Keir's problems are not only because government is challenging, but because he and his colleagues have erred, including in the last few weeks.

Controversies and Dangers

The PM admitted that he regretted saying he was "delighted" to welcome back the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK following an backlash when past remarks he'd previously made – such as calls for Zionists and police to be killed – resurfaced.

Starmer blamed "the system" for failing to identify what the activist had said before – a more diplomatic way of saying it wasn't his responsibility.

And he is courting clear political perils as the year unfolds. His alliance with the US president takes on a new jeopardy after Trump's military action on Venezuela.

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

International Law and Brexit

He asserted he was a "career-long champion of international law" but we "just lack the complete details at the moment".

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

And there has always been growing desire in the Labour party to reverse or renegotiate some of the outcomes of Brexit.

The PM rejects he's pursuing that, but his new specific plan to integrate further with the EU's single market – the huge economic European market – will probably trigger accusations that he is reneging on his pledge never to try to undo the results that stemmed from Brexit.

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