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"I'll be sitting in the same position by 2027," Sir Keir Starmer remarked, joking that if our conversation was successful, he might welcome the interviewer into his official residence for a follow-up chat next year.

There is never truly break for prime ministers. Shortly before our chat started, the PM had been speaking with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and working to decipher precisely had happened in Venezuela, where his key political chum, US President Donald Trump, had just launched a strike against and detained its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

Once our lengthy talk, which was much longer than typical, had finished, Maduro had been charged in New York.

Renewed Energy for the New Year

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

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

Yet, are he and his supporters kidding themselves if they think his fortunes are set to turn around?

Party Concerns

The uncomfortable reality for the leader is that many of his colleagues are convinced he's underperforming at his job. Some of them would rather gamble and oust him sooner rather than later.

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

Repeatedly he stated he'd be "judged at the general election", insisting no one would remove his electoral mandate from him – despite the fact that the most effective strategy of preventing Nigel Farage and Reform UK getting to No 10 might be for Labour to replace its leader.

"This is the fight of our generation and I aim to guide the party," he said.

Upcoming Local Votes

The problem for the PM is that he will be assessed well ahead of then – in a mega set of elections in May across the UK. He tried to contend, perhaps excessively, that they are concerning who runs councils, and who runs the devolved administrations in Holyrood or Cardiff – and unrelated to Westminster.

True – to some extent. But although he may not want to acknowledge it, No 10 will be judged by those elections too.

Despite this, Sir Keir stating that there were no situation under which he would walk away, even if a his colleagues 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 understandably anxious for things to change. He sought to persuade the interviewer, and the nation, that the coming months would be distinct.

The economic situation would strengthen notwithstanding rising unemployment, he said, when plans the government implemented during their first rocky year began to bear fruit.

• He pledged to close asylum hotels ahead of the current deadline of 2029, although he wouldn't set a new date on that.
• He said too, with the qualification that it wasn't a done deal, that a peace agreement in Ukraine felt closer now than at any point since Russia's comprehensive invasion.
• He revealed for the first time that Western partners were now talking about how to coordinate US and European forces to ensure security for Ukraine – to guard a potential peace.

His core argument is that soon the country will "reach a turning point".

Political Challenges

The PM may have communicated with renewed vitality than I've seen from him for a some time – calmer, perhaps, with more time to talk.

But despite facing calls from various quarters for a more decisive approach, with increased political vision, more dynamism, more pace and more immediacy, his explanations were repeated ones.

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

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

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

Regrets and Risks

The prime minister told me that he was sorry for saying he was "delighted" to welcome back the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK following an backlash when past remarks he'd made in the past – such as calls for Zionists and police to be killed – resurfaced.

Sir Keir attributed it to "the system" for not realising what the activist had said before – a fancier way of saying it wasn't his responsibility.

And he is inviting evident political risks as the year gets going. His alliance with the US president takes on a new complication after Trump's military action on Venezuela.

Having interviewed Sir Keir Starmer, a former human rights lawyer who opposed the war in Iraq, over a long period, the notion he would be content with these events seems implausible.

Policy Stances and Pressures

He stated he was a "longtime champion of international law" but we "just do not have the complete details at the moment".

Some demanded criticise the action prior to we spoke. And the administration is expected to face further scrutiny to give an clear view in Parliament in the next few days.

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

Sir Keir rejects he's doing that, but his new more concrete commitment to move closer with the European trading bloc – the huge economic European trading zone – will probably provoke howls that he is breaking his pledge never to try to overturn the results that flowed from Brexit.

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