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"I will remain in the same position by 2027," the Prime Minister remarked, adding that if our discussion proceeded smoothly, he might welcome us into Number 10 for another conversation in 2026.

For a PM, there's never any break for prime ministers. Just an hour before the interview began, Sir Keir had been speaking with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and trying to work out what on earth had happened in Venezuela, where his key friend, US President Donald Trump, had just launched a strike against and detained its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

When our interview, which was much longer than normal, had finished, Maduro had been indicted in New York.

Renewed Energy for the New Year

But as the year starts, Sir Keir seems to have had a degree of a refresh. Maybe even just a little a rest with loved ones at Chequers, the prime minister's country retreat.

That certainly seemed to have left him in better spirits than at the difficult tail end of 2025, a terrible annus horribilis for him.

But are he and his colleagues kidding themselves if they reckon his fortunes are set to get better?

Leadership Questions

The harsh reality for the PM is that numerous of his colleagues are convinced he's underperforming at his job. Some of them would sooner gamble and remove him this year.

However Sir Keir was rejecting the idea during our conversation on Saturday morning.

Multiple times he stated he'd be "assessed at the poll", arguing nobody would strip his term from him – even if the best chance of stopping Nigel Farage and Reform UK getting to No 10 may be for Labour to replace leader.

"We are in the fight of our lifetime and I intend to lead us," he declared.

The Spring Test

The challenge for the PM is that he will be assessed long before then – in a mega set of elections in May across the UK. He tried to argue, perhaps excessively, that they are about who runs local authorities, and who runs the governments in Holyrood or Cardiff – and unrelated to Westminster.

Accurate – up to a point. But although he may not want to admit 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 one of his colleagues ran against him for the job, if those elections be very poor for Labour.

Promises of Improvement

He tried to explain his unpopularity by saying the electorate was reasonably anxious for things to change. He sought to persuade the interviewer, and the public, that this year would be distinct.

The economic situation would improve in the face of rising unemployment, he claimed, when plans the administration put in place during their first turbulent year began to take effect.

• He pledged to close asylum hotels before the current target date of 2029, although he did not put a firm date on that.
• He added too, with the qualification that it was not a certainty, that a peace deal in Ukraine felt a greater possibility now than at any point since Russia's major invasion.
• He revealed for the first occasion that Western partners were now considering how to integrate US and European forces to offer security for Ukraine – to guard a potential peace.

His core message is that this year the country will "reach a turning point".

Political Challenges

The prime minister may have spoken with greater vigour than I've seen from him for a while – more relaxed, maybe, with a longer slot to talk.

But despite facing demands from various quarters for a more decisive strategy, with greater political direction, more dynamism, more pace and more urgency, his arguments were repeated ones.

When he finds himself in considerable political difficulty, should he consider a different script?

No administration, and especially not one that has been unpopular for an extended period, gets everything its as planned.

Sir Keir's challenges are not just because government is difficult, but because he and his team have made mistakes, including in the last few weeks.

Regrets and Risks

The prime minister admitted that he regretted saying he was "pleased" to see the return of the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK after an backlash when comments he'd made in the past – such as calls for Zionists and police to be killed – came to light.

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

And he is courting obvious political dangers as the year gets going. His close relationship with the US president entails a new risk after Trump's strikes on Venezuela.

Based on years of interviewing Sir Keir Starmer, a ex- human rights lawyer who was against the war in Iraq, over many years, the notion he would be content with this kind of intervention seems unlikely.

International Law and Brexit

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

Some wanted him to condemn it before the interview. And the administration is likely to face further scrutiny to give an clear view in Parliament in the coming days.

There has also always been simmering pressure in the Labour party to revisit some of the outcomes of Brexit.

The PM denies he's heading in that direction, but his new firmer plan to integrate further with the EU's single market – the vast economic European trading zone – will likely provoke protests that he is breaking his vow never to try to reverse the choices that stemmed from Brexit.

A commitment to cosy up to more of the single market will delight a faction on his side of the party, but it is simple material for Reform and the Conservatives to