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"I'll be sitting in this office by 2027," Starmer remarked, adding that if the interview was successful, he might welcome us into his official residence for another conversation next year.

For a PM, there's never truly break for leaders. Shortly before the interview began, the PM had been on the phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and working to understand what on earth had occurred in Venezuela, where his big political chum, US President Donald Trump, had recently attacked and captured its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

When our lengthy talk, which was considerably lengthier than normal, had concluded, Maduro had been charged in New York.

A Reboot for the New Year

With the year starts, Sir Keir seems to have had a kind of a reboot. Maybe even just a bit of relaxation with his family at Chequers, the prime minister's official country residence.

That certainly seemed to have resulted in improved morale than at the saggy tail end of 2025, a dreadful political year for him.

But are he and his colleagues deluding themselves if they believe his fortunes are set to improve?

Internal Doubts

The uncomfortable reality for the prime minister is that a significant number of his party members think he's not very good at his job. Some of them would rather take a risk and oust him this year.

But Starmer was having none of it during our conversation on Saturday morning.

Repeatedly he insisted he'd be "assessed at the general election", insisting no one would take his electoral mandate from him – even if the most effective strategy of stopping Nigel Farage and Reform UK reaching No 10 may be for Labour to switch leader.

"This is the fight of our times and I intend to guide the party," he declared.

The May Elections

The problem for the prime minister is that he will be assessed long before then – in a mega set of elections in May throughout the UK. He attempted to contend, maybe too much, that they are about who runs local authorities, and who runs the devolved administrations in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not a verdict on Westminster.

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

This did not stop Sir Keir suggesting that there were no circumstances under which he would walk away, should a his MPs ran against him for the job, if those elections prove disastrous for Labour.

An Optimistic Outlook

He sought to rationalise his unpopularity by saying the voters was understandably anxious for things to get better. He aimed to convince the interviewer, and the public, that 2026 would be a change.

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

• He pledged to shut asylum hotels before the current target date of 2029, although he wouldn't put a specific date on that.
• He added too, with the caveat that it was not a foregone conclusion, that a peace deal in Ukraine felt more likely now than at any time since Russia's major invasion.
• He disclosed for the first occasion that Western allies were now discussing how to coordinate US and European forces to ensure security for Ukraine – to safeguard a possible peace.

His core argument is that soon the country will "turn the corner".

Familiar Arguments

The PM may have spoken with greater vigour than I've seen from him for a some time – less tense, maybe, with a longer slot to talk.

However, in spite of facing pressure from many directions for a more decisive approach, with much more political direction, more vigour, more speed and more urgency, his points were repeated ones.

When he finds himself in such significant political difficulty, should he consider a new narrative?

No government, and especially not one that has been unpopular for an extended period, has everything its as desired.

The Prime Minister's challenges are not just because governing is challenging, but because he and his colleagues have made mistakes, including in the recent past.

Regrets and Risks

The prime minister told me that he regretted saying he was "delighted" to welcome back the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK after an controversy when statements he'd made in the past – including 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 risks as the year progresses. His friendship with the US president acquires a new complication after Trump's strikes 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 idea he would be at ease with these events seems implausible.

International Law and Brexit

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

Opponents demanded condemn it before the interview. And the government is likely to face more pressure to give an clear view in Parliament in the coming days.

There has also consistently 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 specific commitment to integrate further with the European trading bloc – the giant economic European market – will likely trigger howls that he is reneging on his pledge never to try to overturn the results that stemmed from Brexit.

A commitment to align with more of the single market will satisfy a faction on his own side, but it is easy fodder for Reform and the Conservatives to