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"I will be positioned in the same position by 2027," the Prime Minister remarked, adding that if our discussion was successful, he might welcome the interviewer into Number 10 for another chat in 2026.

There is never truly time off for those in the top job. Just an hour before we sat down, Starmer had been in calls with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and working to understand precisely had occurred in Venezuela, where his key political chum, US President Donald Trump, had recently targeted and seized its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

By the time the discussion, which was much longer than normal, had finished, Maduro had been formally accused in New York.

A Reboot for the New Year

But as the year commences, Starmer seems to have had a degree of a reboot. Maybe even just some relaxation with the family at Chequers, the prime minister's rural getaway.

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

But are he and his supporters deluding themselves if they believe his political fate are about to turn around?

Leadership Questions

The uncomfortable truth for the PM is that numerous of his colleagues think he's underperforming at his job. A faction of them would rather gamble and get him out this year.

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

Repeatedly he stated he'd be "judged at the general election", maintaining nobody would remove his five-year mandate from him – even if the most effective strategy of halting Nigel Farage and Reform UK entering No 10 may be for Labour to replace leader.

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

Upcoming Local Votes

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

True – to some extent. But although he may be reluctant to admit 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 step down, even if a his MPs contested his leadership for the job, should those elections be disastrous for Labour.

An Optimistic Outlook

He sought to explain his unpopularity by saying the electorate was naturally anxious for things to improve. He aimed to persuade me, and the public, that the coming months would be different.

The economy would strengthen in the face of rising unemployment, he argued, when plans the administration enacted during their first choppy year began to take effect.

• He pledged to close asylum hotels ahead of the current deadline of 2029, but he wouldn't set a firm date on that.
• He noted too, with the proviso that it was not a done deal, that a settlement in Ukraine felt more likely now than at any point since Russia's comprehensive invasion.
• He revealed for the first occasion that Western allies were now considering how to integrate US and European forces to provide security for Ukraine – to guard a potential peace.

His core point is that in 2026 the country will "see an improvement".

A Consistent Script

The prime minister may have communicated with greater vigour than I've seen from him for a some time – calmer, maybe, with more time to talk.

But despite facing demands from within his own party for a more decisive approach, with greater political vision, more dynamism, more pace and more urgency, his points were familiar ones.

Given that he is in this much political difficulty, is a different approach required a new narrative?

No government, and especially not one that has been unpopular for many months, has everything its as desired.

Sir Keir's challenges are not just because governing is hard, but because he and his team have made mistakes, including in the recent past.

Controversies and Dangers

The PM admitted that he regretted 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 – came to light.

Starmer attributed it to "the system" for not realising what the activist had said before – a fancier way of saying not my fault.

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

Based on years of interviewing Sir Keir Starmer, a ex- human rights lawyer who opposed the war in Iraq, over his career, the thought he would be at ease with this kind of intervention seems implausible.

International Law and Brexit

He told me he was a "career-long proponent of international law" but the public "just haven't got the complete details at the moment".

Critics demanded denounce it before we spoke. And the administration is likely to face more pressure to give an definitive view in Parliament in the near future.

And there has long been growing tension in the Labour ranks to reverse or renegotiate some of the consequences of Brexit.

The PM disputes he's pursuing that, but his new more concrete commitment to move closer with the single market – the huge economic European market – will probably elicit howls that he is reneging on his vow never to try to undo the results that followed Brexit.

A move to cosy up to 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