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"I'll be sitting in this office by 2027," the Prime Minister stated, adding that if our conversation proceeded smoothly, he might invite the interviewer into his official residence for a follow-up talk in 2026.

There is never any time off for prime ministers. In the hour before we sat down, Sir Keir had been on the phone with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and working to decipher exactly what had happened in Venezuela, where his big political chum, US President Donald Trump, had recently launched a strike against and detained its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

When our interview, which was considerably lengthier than typical, had ended, Maduro had been charged in New York.

A Refresh for the New Year

But as the year starts, Sir Keir seems to have had a kind of a revitalisation. Maybe even just a little relaxation with the family at Chequers, the prime minister's country retreat.

This appeared to have resulted in improved morale than at the saggy end of 2025, a terrible year politically for him.

Yet, are he and his allies being unrealistic if they believe his political fate are set to get better?

Party Concerns

The harsh truth for the leader is that a significant number of his party members believe he's underperforming at his job. Several of them would rather take a risk and oust him in 2026.

However Starmer was rejecting the idea in the interview on Saturday morning.

Repeatedly he told me he'd be "judged at the next election", insisting nobody would take his term from him – despite the fact that the most effective strategy of preventing Nigel Farage and Reform UK entering No 10 might be for Labour to change its leader.

"This is the battle of our times and I plan to lead us," he affirmed.

The May Elections

The problem for the PM is that he will be judged well ahead of then – in a huge set of elections in May throughout the UK. He sought to contend, maybe too much, that they are concerning who runs local authorities, and who runs the devolved administrations in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not about Westminster.

True – up to a point. But even though he may be reluctant to acknowledge it, No 10 will be held accountable by those elections too.

This did not stop Sir Keir stating that there were no scenario under which he would resign, even if a his MPs challenged him for the job, should those elections be catastrophic for Labour.

Promises of Improvement

He attempted to explain his low poll ratings by saying the voters was naturally anxious for things to change. He tried to convince the interviewer, and the public, that this year would be a change.

The economy would recover notwithstanding rising unemployment, he claimed, when plans the administration implemented during their first turbulent year began to bear fruit.

• He vowed to shut asylum hotels before the current target date of 2029, although he did not set a new date on that.
• He said too, with the qualification that it wasn't a foregone conclusion, that a settlement in Ukraine felt closer now than at any time since Russia's full-scale invasion.
• He disclosed for the first occasion that Western partners were now discussing how to combine US and European forces to offer security for Ukraine – to guard a possible peace.

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

Familiar Arguments

The PM may have spoken with greater vigour than observed from him for a some time – less tense, maybe, with more time to talk.

But despite encountering pressure from various quarters for a more decisive approach, with much more political clarity, more dynamism, more pace and more immediacy, his explanations were repeated ones.

When he finds himself in considerable political peril, does he need a different script?

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

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

Controversies and Dangers

The PM expressed regret that he was sorry for saying he was "pleased" to see the return of the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK following an backlash when statements he'd previously made – including calls for Zionists and police to be killed – resurfaced.

Starmer blamed "the process" for not catching what the activist had said before – a more diplomatic way of saying not my fault.

And he is inviting evident political perils as the year gets going. His alliance with the US president entails a new risk after Trump's intervention on Venezuela.

Based on years of interviewing Sir Keir Starmer, a former human rights lawyer who opposed the war in Iraq, over his career, the idea he would be content with such action seems implausible.

International Law and Brexit

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

Critics called for him to criticise the action prior to the interview. And the government is likely to face further scrutiny to give an clear view in Parliament in the next few days.

There has also long been simmering desire in the Labour ranks to undo or remake some of the consequences of Brexit.

The PM denies he's heading in that direction, but his new more concrete pledge to align more closely with the single market – the giant economic European market – will likely provoke accusations that he is reneging on his promise never to try to reverse the results that stemmed from Brexit.

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