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"I'll be sitting in this seat by 2027," Starmer remarked, joking that if our interview was successful, he might invite the interviewer into Downing Street for a follow-up conversation in 2026.

There is never any downtime for prime ministers. Shortly before the interview began, the PM had been in calls with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and attempting to decipher exactly what had transpired in Venezuela, where his close friend, US President Donald Trump, had recently launched a strike against and detained its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

By the time our lengthy talk, which was considerably lengthier than normal, had ended, Maduro had been charged in New York.

A Refresh for the New Year

With the year starts, Sir Keir seems to have had something of a revitalisation. Perhaps even just a little downtime with loved ones at Chequers, the prime minister's official country residence.

This appeared to have left him in a more positive mood than at the difficult tail end of 2025, a dreadful annus horribilis for him.

Yet, are he and his colleagues deluding themselves if they think his fortunes are poised to turn around?

Party Concerns

The uncomfortable reality for the leader is that numerous of his colleagues think he's not very good at his job. Several of them would rather gamble and get him out in 2026.

But Sir Keir was dismissing such talk in the interview on Saturday morning.

Multiple times he told me he'd be "evaluated at the next election", arguing no one would strip his five-year mandate from him – even if the best chance of halting Nigel Farage and Reform UK reaching No 10 could be for Labour to change its leader.

"We are in the fight of our times and I intend to be at the forefront," he affirmed.

The Spring Test

The issue for the prime minister is that he will be scrutinised long before then – in a huge set of elections in May across the UK. He attempted to argue, maybe excessively, that they are concerning who runs local authorities, and who runs the governments in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not a verdict on Westminster.

True – in part. But even though he may be reluctant to admit it, No 10 will be held accountable by those elections too.

This did not stop Sir Keir stating that there were no situation under which he would step down, even if one of his MPs ran against him for the job, should those elections be catastrophic for Labour.

Predicting a Turnaround

He tried to rationalise his unpopularity by saying the electorate was naturally eager for things to improve. He sought to assure the interviewer, and the nation, that the coming months would be a change.

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

• He vowed to shut asylum hotels ahead of the current target date of 2029, but he wouldn't put a firm date on that.
• He added too, with the qualification that it was not a foregone conclusion, that a settlement in Ukraine felt a greater possibility now than at any time since Russia's full-scale invasion.
• He revealed for the first occasion that Western allies were now talking about how to coordinate US and European forces to ensure security for Ukraine – to safeguard a possible peace.

His big message is that this year the country will "turn the corner".

Political Challenges

The prime minister may have communicated with greater vigour than observed from him for a some time – calmer, maybe, with a longer slot to talk.

However, in spite of encountering demands from within his own party for a bolder strategy, with increased political vision, more vigour, more speed and more immediacy, his explanations were familiar ones.

Given that he is in considerable political peril, is a different approach required a different script?

No administration, and certainly not one that has been struggling in the polls for many months, gets everything its as desired.

The Prime Minister's problems are not only because governing is challenging, but because he and his team have erred, including in the last few weeks.

Controversies and Dangers

The prime minister told me that he regretted saying he was "pleased" to welcome back the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK following an controversy when comments he'd previously made – including calls for Zionists and police to be killed – resurfaced.

Sir Keir attributed it to "the process" for failing to identify what the activist had said before – a more diplomatic way of saying it wasn't his responsibility.

And he is inviting clear political risks as the year unfolds. His close relationship with the US president acquires a new complication after Trump's strikes on Venezuela.

Having interviewed Sir Keir Starmer, a ex- human rights lawyer who was against the war in Iraq, over many years, the thought he would be at ease with such action seems unlikely.

Policy Stances and Pressures

He stated he was a "lifelong champion of international law" but the public "simply do not have the complete details at the moment".

Critics demanded criticise the action before we spoke. And the administration is likely to face increased demands to give an explicit view in Parliament in the coming days.

There has also always been growing desire in the Labour ranks to reverse or renegotiate some of the results of Brexit.

The PM disputes he's pursuing that, but his new more concrete pledge to integrate further with the EU's single market – the vast economic European trading zone – will likely trigger protests that he is breaking his pledge never to try to undo the results that flowed from Brexit.

A move to align with more of the single market will delight a faction on his side of the party, but it is prime ammunition for Reform and the Conservatives to