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"I'll be sitting in the same seat by 2027," Starmer declared, joking that if our interview proceeded smoothly, he might welcome us into Number 10 for another conversation in 2026.

There is rarely ever downtime for those in the top job. Just an hour before the interview began, the PM had been on the phone with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and working to decipher precisely had occurred in Venezuela, where his key ally, US President Donald Trump, had just launched a strike against and detained its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

Once our interview, which was far more extended than usual, had finished, Maduro had been indicted in New York.

Renewed Energy for the New Year

But as the year commences, the Prime Minister seems to have had a degree of a refresh. Maybe even just a bit of a rest with the family at Chequers, the prime minister's rural getaway.

That certainly appeared to have resulted in better spirits than at the difficult tail end of 2025, a terrible political year for him.

Yet, are he and his allies deluding themselves if they believe his fortunes are about to improve?

Internal Doubts

The grisly truth for the leader is that a significant number of his fellow MPs believe he's ineffective at his job. A faction of them would rather take a risk and oust him sooner rather than later.

However Starmer was dismissing such talk in the interview on Saturday morning.

On several occasions he stated he'd be "judged at the poll", arguing nobody would take his five-year mandate from him – despite the fact that the best chance of halting Nigel Farage and Reform UK entering No 10 may be for Labour to replace leader.

"We are in the fight of our generation and I plan to lead us," he declared.

Upcoming Local Votes

The issue for the prime minister is that he will be scrutinised far sooner than then – in a mega set of elections in May throughout the UK. He attempted to protest, perhaps too much, that they are about who runs councils, and who runs the governments in Holyrood or Cardiff – and unrelated to Westminster.

Accurate – to some extent. But although he may be reluctant to acknowledge it, No 10 will be evaluated 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 challenged him for the job, if those elections prove very poor for Labour.

An Optimistic Outlook

He tried to rationalise his unpopularity by saying the public was understandably anxious for things to improve. He sought to convince me, and the nation, that the coming months would be different.

The economy would improve despite rising unemployment, he said, when plans the administration enacted during their initial choppy year began to bear fruit.

• He pledged to shut asylum hotels ahead of the current deadline of 2029, but he did not set a new date on that.
• He said too, with the caveat that it wasn't a done deal, that a settlement in Ukraine felt a greater possibility now than at any point since Russia's major invasion.
• He disclosed for the first time that Western allies were now discussing how to integrate US and European forces to provide security for Ukraine – to guard a potential peace.

His big point is that in 2026 the country will "reach a turning point".

Familiar Arguments

The PM may have communicated with more energy than observed from him for a some time – calmer, perhaps, with a longer slot to talk.

However, in spite of encountering calls from within his own party for a more decisive strategy, with greater political direction, more urgency, more speed and more immediacy, his points were familiar ones.

When he finds himself in such significant political difficulty, does he need a different script?

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

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

Regrets and Risks

The PM expressed regret that he was sorry for saying he was "happy" to see the return of the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK following an outcry when statements he'd previously made – such as calls for Zionists and police to be killed – came to light.

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

And he is inviting obvious political perils as the year progresses. His close relationship with the US president entails a new jeopardy after Trump's intervention on Venezuela.

Having interviewed 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 such action seems unlikely.

Policy Stances and Pressures

He asserted he was a "longtime proponent of international law" but we "simply haven't got the full picture at the moment".

Critics wanted him to denounce it prior to the interview. And the government is expected to face increased demands to give an explicit view in Parliament in the coming days.

There has also always been simmering desire in the Labour party to reverse or renegotiate some of the consequences of Brexit.

Sir Keir rejects he's doing that, but his new specific commitment to integrate further with the single market – the giant economic European trading zone – will likely trigger protests that he is reneging on his promise never to try to overturn the choices that flowed from Brexit.

A commitment to cosy up to more of the single market will satisfy some on his side of the party, but it is simple material for Reform and the Conservatives to