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"I'll remain in the same seat by 2027," Sir Keir Starmer remarked, joking that if the conversation proceeded smoothly, he might invite us into Downing Street for a follow-up conversation in 2026.

For a PM, there's rarely ever break for leaders. In the hour before the interview began, Starmer had been on the phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and trying to understand precisely had happened in Venezuela, where his key ally, US President Donald Trump, had just attacked and captured its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

By the time our lengthy talk, which was considerably lengthier than typical, had ended, Maduro had been indicted in New York.

A Reboot for the New Year

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

This seemed to have left him in a more positive mood than at the sluggish end of 2025, a terrible political year for him.

Yet, are he and his colleagues being unrealistic if they reckon his political fate are poised to improve?

Party Concerns

The grisly truth for the prime minister is that many of his colleagues believe he's underperforming at his job. Some of them would sooner take a risk and get him out in 2026.

But Sir Keir was dismissing such talk when we spoke on Saturday morning.

Repeatedly he insisted he'd be "judged at the next election", maintaining no one would remove his five-year mandate from him – even if the most effective strategy of stopping Nigel Farage and Reform UK entering No 10 might be for Labour to switch its leader.

"We are in the fight of our times and I aim to be at the forefront," he declared.

Upcoming Local Votes

The challenge for the PM is that he will be judged well ahead of then – in a mega set of elections in May across the UK. He attempted to argue, maybe excessively, that they are concerning who runs local authorities, and who runs the governments in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not a verdict on Westminster.

True – in part. But even though he may be reluctant to concede it, No 10 will be judged by those elections too.

This did not stop Sir Keir suggesting that there were no circumstances under which he would walk away, even if one of his MPs ran against him for the job, should those elections be very poor for Labour.

Predicting a Turnaround

He attempted to rationalise his unpopularity by saying the public was understandably eager for things to change. He sought to assure me, and the public, that this year would be distinct.

The economic situation would improve despite rising unemployment, he said, when strategies the government implemented during their first turbulent year began to take effect.

• He vowed to empty asylum hotels ahead of the current target date of 2029, although he wouldn't put a firm date on that.
• He said too, with the qualification that it was not a done deal, that a peace agreement in Ukraine felt more likely now than at any time since Russia's major invasion.
• He disclosed for the first occasion that Western partners were now considering how to combine US and European forces to ensure security for Ukraine – to protect a possible peace.

His core message is that soon the country will "see an improvement".

Familiar Arguments

The prime minister may have communicated with renewed vitality than I've seen from him for a while – less tense, perhaps, with a longer slot to talk.

But despite facing calls from within his own party for a bolder strategy, with greater political vision, more dynamism, more pace and more urgency, his points were well-known ones.

When he finds himself in this much political difficulty, does he need a different script?

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

Sir Keir's challenges are not just because government is hard, but because he and his colleagues have faltered, including in the last few weeks.

Regrets and Risks

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

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

And he is facing obvious political perils as the year unfolds. His friendship with the US president takes on a new jeopardy 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 such action seems far-fetched.

Policy Stances and Pressures

He told me he was a "career-long proponent of international law" but we "just haven't got the full picture at the moment".

Opponents called for him to criticise the action before we spoke. And the government is expected to face further scrutiny to give an definitive view in Parliament in the near future.

And there has long been bubbling pressure in the Labour ranks to reverse or renegotiate some of the outcomes of Brexit.

Sir Keir rejects he's doing that, but his new firmer pledge to integrate further with the European trading bloc – the giant economic European trading zone – will likely trigger accusations that he is reneging on his vow never to try to reverse the results that followed Brexit.

A decision to cosy up to more of the single market will please many on his backbenches, but it is simple material for Reform and the Conservatives to