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"I'll remain in this seat by 2027," Starmer remarked, noting that if our interview proceeded smoothly, he might invite the interviewer into his official residence for another talk in the coming year.

For a PM, there's rarely ever downtime for leaders. Shortly before the interview began, Sir Keir had been on the phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and attempting to work out exactly what had occurred in Venezuela, where his key ally, US President Donald Trump, had recently targeted and seized its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

By the time our interview, which was much longer than typical, had concluded, Maduro had been formally accused in New York.

Renewed Energy for the New Year

As the new year begins, Sir Keir seems to have had a kind of a refresh. Maybe even just a bit of a rest with the family at Chequers, the prime minister's official country residence.

This seemed to have put him in improved morale than at the saggy conclusion of 2025, a awful annus horribilis for him.

Yet, are he and his allies kidding themselves if they believe his political fate are about to get better?

Internal Doubts

The harsh reality for the PM is that numerous of his party members are convinced he's underperforming at his job. Several of them would rather take a risk and remove him in 2026.

But Sir Keir was dismissing such talk during our conversation on Saturday morning.

Multiple times he insisted he'd be "evaluated at the general election", arguing nobody would remove his term from him – despite the fact that the optimal path of halting Nigel Farage and Reform UK getting to No 10 might be for Labour to change leader.

"We are in the struggle of our lifetime and I plan to be at the forefront," he affirmed.

Upcoming Local Votes

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

Accurate – up to a point. But although he may not want to concede it, No 10 will be evaluated by those elections too.

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

Promises of Improvement

He sought to explain his low poll ratings by saying the electorate was naturally anxious for things to get better. He aimed to assure me, and the nation, that this year would be different.

The economy would strengthen in the face of rising unemployment, he claimed, when policies the government implemented during their first rocky year began to bear fruit.

• He vowed to close asylum hotels ahead of the current deadline of 2029, but he did not set a new date on that.
• He noted too, with the proviso 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 stated for the first occasion that Western allies were now discussing how to combine US and European forces to ensure security for Ukraine – to safeguard a potential peace.

His central message is that this year the country will "see an improvement".

Political Challenges

The prime minister may have spoken with renewed vitality than I've seen from him for a some time – more relaxed, maybe, with a longer slot to talk.

But despite encountering calls from various quarters for a more decisive approach, with greater political direction, more vigour, more speed and more urgency, his explanations were familiar ones.

Given that he is in considerable political trouble, should he consider a new narrative?

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

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

Controversies and Dangers

The PM told me 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 following an backlash when past remarks he'd previously made – such as calls for Zionists and police to be killed – surfaced.

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

And he is inviting obvious political perils as the year gets going. His friendship with the US president acquires a new jeopardy after Trump's intervention on Venezuela.

Based on years of interviewing Sir Keir Starmer, a ex- human rights lawyer who opposed the war in Iraq, over a long period, the notion he would be comfortable with this kind of intervention seems far-fetched.

Policy Stances and Pressures

He told me he was a "lifelong proponent of international law" but we "just haven't got the complete details at the moment".

Critics demanded condemn it prior to we spoke. And the administration is expected to face increased demands to give an clear view in Parliament in the next few days.

There has also always been simmering desire in the Labour ranks to reverse or renegotiate some of the consequences of Brexit.

Sir Keir rejects he's heading in that direction, but his new firmer plan to align more closely with the EU's single market – the huge economic European market – will likely provoke protests that he is reneging on his promise never to try to reverse the choices that stemmed from Brexit.

A commitment to align with more of the single market will delight many on his backbenches, but it is simple material for Reform and the Conservatives to