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"I will be sitting in this seat by 2027," the Prime Minister stated, noting that if our interview proceeded smoothly, he might invite the interviewer into his official residence for another talk in the coming year.

There is never any break for leaders. Just an hour before we sat down, Sir Keir had been in calls with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and working to work out precisely had occurred in Venezuela, where his big ally, US President Donald Trump, had recently targeted and seized its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

When our interview, which was much longer than usual, had finished, Maduro had been formally accused in New York.

A Refresh for the New Year

But as the year commences, Sir Keir appears to have had something of a refresh. Maybe even just some downtime with the family at Chequers, the prime minister's rural getaway.

This seemed to have resulted in improved morale than at the difficult tail end of 2025, a dreadful annus horribilis for him.

Yet, are he and his supporters kidding themselves if they believe his standing are about to improve?

Party Concerns

The grisly reality for the PM is that numerous of his fellow MPs are convinced he's not very good at his job. A faction of them would sooner take a risk and oust him this year.

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

On several occasions he told me he'd be "evaluated at the next election", arguing nobody would strip his electoral mandate from him – despite the fact that the best chance of preventing Nigel Farage and Reform UK getting to No 10 may be for Labour to switch leader.

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

The Spring Test

The problem for the prime minister is that he will be scrutinised far sooner than then – in a major set of elections in May across the UK. He sought to argue, perhaps excessively, that they are concerning who runs councils, and who runs the governments in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not a verdict on Westminster.

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

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

Predicting a Turnaround

He tried to rationalise his unpopularity by saying the electorate was naturally anxious for things to improve. He tried to assure me, and the public, that this year would be a change.

The economic situation would strengthen notwithstanding rising unemployment, he said, when policies the government enacted during their first turbulent year began to bear fruit.

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

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

Political Challenges

The PM may have spoken with more energy than observed from him for a some time – more relaxed, perhaps, with more time to talk.

However, in spite of facing calls from various quarters for a bolder approach, with much more political vision, more dynamism, more pace and more urgency, his explanations were repeated ones.

When he finds himself in such significant political difficulty, is a different approach required a change of tack?

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

The Prime Minister's problems are not just because government is hard, but because he and his colleagues have made mistakes, even in the last few weeks.

Controversies and Dangers

The prime minister admitted that he regretted saying he was "delighted" to welcome back the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK following an outcry when comments he'd made in the past – such as calls for Zionists and police to be killed – surfaced.

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

And he is inviting clear political perils as the year gets going. His close relationship with the US president acquires a new risk after Trump's military action on Venezuela.

Having interviewed Sir Keir Starmer, a former human rights lawyer who was against the war in Iraq, over many years, the notion he would be comfortable with such action seems implausible.

Policy Stances and Pressures

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

Opponents called for him to criticise the action before we spoke. And the government is likely to face increased demands to give an explicit view in Parliament in the coming days.

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

Sir Keir disputes he's doing that, but his new more concrete pledge to move closer with the European trading bloc – the huge economic European trading zone – will likely trigger protests that he is breaking his vow never to try to overturn the choices that stemmed from Brexit.

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