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"I will remain in this position by 2027," Starmer stated, joking that if the discussion proceeded smoothly, he might invite the interviewer into his official residence for a follow-up chat next year.

There is never truly downtime for leaders. In the hour before we sat down, Starmer had been on the phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and working to decipher what on earth had transpired in Venezuela, where his big political chum, US President Donald Trump, had just targeted and seized its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

When our interview, which was far more extended than typical, had ended, Maduro had been indicted in New York.

A Refresh for the New Year

As the year commences, Sir Keir seems to have had something of a refresh. Perhaps even just some downtime with his family at Chequers, the prime minister's rural getaway.

This appeared to have resulted in better spirits than at the sluggish end of 2025, a dreadful year politically for him.

But are he and his colleagues kidding themselves if they believe his standing are set to get better?

Party Concerns

The harsh reality for the prime minister is that numerous of his party members think he's not very good at his job. Several of them would rather gamble and remove him in 2026.

But Sir Keir was rejecting the idea when we spoke on Saturday morning.

Multiple times he insisted he'd be "assessed at the general election", insisting nobody would strip his five-year mandate from him – despite the fact that the most effective strategy of preventing Nigel Farage and Reform UK reaching No 10 might be for Labour to change leader.

"This is the battle of our lifetime and I plan to be at the forefront," he said.

Upcoming Local Votes

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 about who runs councils, and who runs the governments in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not about Westminster.

Accurate – to some extent. 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 situation under which he would resign, even if one of his MPs ran against him for the job, if those elections prove disastrous for Labour.

An Optimistic Outlook

He attempted to rationalise his low poll ratings by saying the electorate was understandably impatient for things to get better. He aimed to persuade me, and the public, that the coming months would be a change.

The economy would improve despite rising unemployment, he said, when policies the administration enacted during their first rocky year began to bear fruit.

• He pledged to close asylum hotels ahead of the current target date of 2029, but he wouldn't put a specific date on that.
• He added too, with the qualification that it was not a done deal, that a settlement in Ukraine felt closer now than at any time since Russia's full-scale invasion.
• He stated for the first occasion that Western allies were now talking about how to combine US and European forces to offer security for Ukraine – to safeguard a possible peace.

His central message is that in 2026 the country will "see an improvement".

A Consistent Script

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

However, in spite of facing demands from within his own party for a more decisive approach, with greater political vision, more urgency, more speed and more immediacy, his points were well-known ones.

Given that he is in considerable political trouble, is a different approach required 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.

The Prime Minister's problems are not just because government is challenging, but because he and his colleagues have faltered, even in the recent past.

Controversies and Dangers

The prime minister expressed regret that he was sorry for saying he was "delighted" to see the return of the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK after an backlash when comments he'd previously made – including calls for Zionists and police to be killed – came to light.

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

And he is courting evident political perils as the year unfolds. His friendship with the US president entails a new risk after Trump's intervention on Venezuela.

Having interviewed Sir Keir Starmer, a ex- human rights lawyer who was against the war in Iraq, over a long period, the notion he would be comfortable with this kind of intervention seems unlikely.

Policy Stances and Pressures

He told me he was a "career-long advocate of international law" but we "just lack the full picture at the moment".

Opponents wanted him to criticise the action before the interview. And the administration is likely to face increased demands to give an clear view in Parliament in the next few days.

And there has long been simmering desire in the Labour party to revisit some of the results of Brexit.

The PM disputes he's heading in that direction, but his new more concrete plan to integrate further with the EU's single market – the huge economic European trading zone – will likely elicit howls that he is reneging on his vow never to try to undo the results that flowed from Brexit.

A commitment to align with more of the single market will delight some on his own side, but it is prime ammunition for Reform and the Conservatives to