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"I'll remain in the same seat by 2027," the Prime Minister declared, joking that if our conversation went well, he might welcome us into Downing Street for another conversation next year.

There is rarely ever downtime for prime ministers. Shortly before our chat started, the PM had been on the phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and attempting to understand exactly what had happened in Venezuela, where his key friend, US President Donald Trump, had just launched a strike against and detained its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

Once the discussion, which was considerably lengthier than typical, had finished, Maduro had been charged in New York.

Renewed Energy for the New Year

But as the year starts, Sir Keir seems to have had something of a refresh. Perhaps even just a bit of relaxation with his family at Chequers, the prime minister's country retreat.

That certainly appeared to have put him in improved morale than at the difficult tail end of 2025, a awful annus horribilis for him.

Yet, are he and his supporters being unrealistic if they reckon his political fate are poised to get better?

Party Concerns

The uncomfortable reality for the prime minister is that numerous of his fellow MPs believe he's underperforming at his job. A faction of them would sooner take a risk and remove him this year.

However Sir Keir was having none of it when we spoke on Saturday morning.

Multiple times he told me he'd be "evaluated at the general election", maintaining nobody would take his term from him – despite the fact that the best chance of halting Nigel Farage and Reform UK entering No 10 might be for Labour to replace its leader.

"We are in the struggle of our times and I plan to guide the party," he said.

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 throughout the UK. He attempted to argue, perhaps too much, that they are concerning who runs local authorities, and who runs the governments in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not a verdict on Westminster.

Accurate – in part. But even though he may not want to concede it, No 10 will be judged by those elections too.

Despite this, Sir Keir stating that there were no scenario under which he would step down, should a his MPs ran against him for the job, if those elections be catastrophic for Labour.

Promises of Improvement

He tried to account for his low poll ratings by saying the electorate was reasonably eager for things to get better. He sought to convince me, and the public, that 2026 would be distinct.

The economic situation would strengthen in the face of rising unemployment, he claimed, when strategies the government implemented during their initial choppy year began to take effect.

• He pledged to close asylum hotels ahead of the current target date of 2029, but he did not put a new date on that.
• He noted too, with the caveat that it was not a foregone conclusion, that a settlement in Ukraine felt more likely now than at any time since Russia's full-scale invasion.
• He revealed for the first time that Western allies were now considering how to coordinate US and European forces to provide security for Ukraine – to safeguard a potential peace.

His core argument is that this year the country will "turn the corner".

A Consistent Script

The prime minister may have communicated with greater vigour than observed from him for a some time – less tense, perhaps, with more time to talk.

However, in spite of facing calls from within his own party for a bolder approach, with greater political direction, more urgency, more pace and more immediacy, his points were familiar ones.

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

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

Sir Keir's problems are not just because government is challenging, but because he and his colleagues have erred, including in the recent past.

Controversies and Dangers

The PM told me that he was sorry for saying he was "pleased" to welcome back the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK after an outcry when comments he'd made in the past – such as calls for Zionists and police to be killed – came to light.

Sir Keir attributed it to "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 courting obvious political perils as the year gets going. His friendship with the US president takes on a new jeopardy after Trump's intervention on Venezuela.

Having interviewed Sir Keir Starmer, a former human rights lawyer who opposed the war in Iraq, over his career, the thought he would be content with these events seems unlikely.

Policy Stances and Pressures

He stated he was a "career-long proponent of international law" but we "simply haven't got the complete details at the moment".

Opponents called for him to condemn it prior to the interview. And the administration is expected to face further scrutiny to give an explicit view in Parliament in the next few days.

And there has always been growing tension in the Labour party to undo or remake some of the consequences of Brexit.

The PM disputes he's heading in that direction, but his new more concrete commitment to integrate further with the European trading bloc – the giant economic European market – will likely elicit protests that he is reneging on his promise never to try to reverse the decisions that flowed from Brexit.

A decision to align with more of the single market will satisfy many on his side of the party, but it is simple material for Reform and the Conservatives to