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"I'll remain in the same position by 2027," the Prime Minister remarked, adding that if our discussion proceeded smoothly, he might invite the interviewer into his official residence for a follow-up chat in the coming year.

There is rarely ever break for prime ministers. Just an hour before the interview began, the PM had been in calls with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and attempting to work out 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 far more extended than typical, had concluded, Maduro had been indicted in New York.

A Reboot for the New Year

As the new year begins, Starmer seems to have had a kind of a refresh. Maybe even just a bit of a rest with his family at Chequers, the prime minister's country retreat.

That certainly seemed to have left him in a more positive mood than at the saggy end of 2025, a awful political year for him.

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

Internal Doubts

The uncomfortable truth for the PM is that a significant number of his fellow MPs think he's not very good at his job. A faction of them would sooner gamble and oust him this year.

However Sir Keir was rejecting the idea during our conversation on Saturday morning.

Multiple times he stated he'd be "judged at the poll", arguing no one would strip his five-year mandate from him – even if the optimal path of preventing Nigel Farage and Reform UK reaching No 10 could be for Labour to switch its leader.

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

Upcoming Local Votes

The issue for the PM is that he will be scrutinised far sooner than then – in a major set of elections in May throughout the UK. He sought to protest, maybe too much, that they are concerning who runs local authorities, and who runs the governments in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not a verdict on Westminster.

True – to some extent. But even though he may not want to acknowledge 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 resign, should a his colleagues ran against him for the job, if those elections be disastrous for Labour.

Promises of Improvement

He tried to explain his unpopularity by saying the voters was naturally impatient for things to change. He sought to persuade me, and the public, that this year would be a change.

The economy would strengthen despite rising unemployment, he argued, when plans the administration put in place during their first choppy year began to show results.

• He vowed to shut asylum hotels before the current target date of 2029, but he wouldn't set a firm date on that.
• He noted too, with the qualification that it wasn't a certainty, that a settlement in Ukraine felt a greater possibility now than at any point since Russia's major invasion.
• He stated for the first occasion that Western allies were now talking about how to integrate US and European forces to ensure security for Ukraine – to protect a possible peace.

His core point is that in 2026 the country will "turn the corner".

Familiar Arguments

The prime minister may have communicated with more energy than observed from him for a while – more relaxed, maybe, with more time to talk.

However, in spite of facing pressure from many directions for a bolder approach, with increased political direction, more dynamism, more pace and more immediacy, his points were familiar ones.

When he finds himself in considerable political trouble, is a different approach required a change of tack?

No administration, and especially not one that has been unpopular for many months, has everything its own way.

Sir Keir's challenges are not only because governing is difficult, but because he and his team have faltered, even in the last few weeks.

Regrets and Risks

The PM admitted that he regretted saying he was "pleased" to see the return of 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 "procedures" for failing to identify what the activist had said before – a fancier way of saying it wasn't his responsibility.

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

Based on years of interviewing Sir Keir Starmer, a ex- human rights lawyer who was against the war in Iraq, over many years, the idea he would be comfortable with these events seems implausible.

Policy Stances and Pressures

He told me he was a "lifelong advocate of international law" but we "simply do not have the complete details at the moment".

Critics demanded criticise the action prior to we spoke. And the administration is expected to face more pressure to give an definitive view in Parliament in the next few days.

There has also consistently been simmering tension in the Labour ranks to undo or remake some of the outcomes of Brexit.

Sir Keir rejects he's heading in that direction, but his new more concrete pledge to move closer with the EU's single market – the huge economic European trading zone – will likely elicit howls that he is going back on his pledge never to try to reverse the decisions that stemmed from Brexit.

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