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"I'll remain in the same position by 2027," Starmer declared, joking that if the discussion proceeded smoothly, he might invite the interviewer into Number 10 for a follow-up chat next year.

For a PM, there's never truly time off for prime ministers. In the hour before the interview began, Sir Keir had been speaking with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and working to decipher what on earth had occurred in Venezuela, where his close ally, US President Donald Trump, had just attacked and captured its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

By the time the discussion, which was far more extended than normal, had concluded, Maduro had been indicted in New York.

A Refresh for the New Year

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

This appeared to have resulted in improved morale than at the sluggish end of 2025, a terrible political year for him.

Yet, are he and his allies deluding themselves if they think his political fate are about to get better?

Party Concerns

The harsh truth for the PM is that numerous of his party members are convinced he's underperforming at his job. A faction of them would sooner take a risk and remove him sooner rather than later.

However Starmer was rejecting the idea when we spoke on Saturday morning.

Multiple times he told me he'd be "judged at the poll", arguing no one would strip his five-year mandate from him – even if the most effective strategy of preventing Nigel Farage and Reform UK entering No 10 may be for Labour to change its leader.

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

Upcoming Local Votes

The challenge for the PM is that he will be scrutinised far sooner than then – in a mega set of elections in May throughout the UK. He sought to contend, maybe excessively, that they are concerning who runs councils, and who runs the devolved administrations in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not about Westminster.

Accurate – to some extent. But even though 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 situation under which he would resign, even if one of his MPs ran against him for the job, should those elections prove disastrous for Labour.

Predicting a Turnaround

He sought to explain his unpopularity by saying the electorate was reasonably eager for things to get better. He aimed to convince the interviewer, and the public, that this year would be different.

The economic situation would strengthen despite rising unemployment, he claimed, when plans the administration implemented during their first choppy year began to show results.

• He committed to shut asylum hotels ahead of the current deadline of 2029, although he did not set a firm date on that.
• He said too, with the caveat that it was not a certainty, that a peace agreement in Ukraine felt more likely now than at any point since Russia's comprehensive invasion.
• He stated for the first occasion that Western allies were now considering how to integrate US and European forces to ensure security for Ukraine – to guard a possible peace.

His big message is that in 2026 the country will "turn the corner".

Political Challenges

The prime minister may have spoken with more energy than observed from him for a some time – less tense, perhaps, with more time to talk.

But despite facing pressure from within his own party for a more decisive approach, with increased political clarity, more vigour, more speed and more immediacy, his arguments were familiar ones.

When he finds himself in such significant political trouble, does he need a new narrative?

No government, and certainly not one that has been struggling in the polls for an extended period, gets everything its as planned.

The Prime Minister's problems are not just because government is difficult, but because he and his team have faltered, even in the recent past.

Regrets and Risks

The prime minister admitted that he was sorry for saying he was "happy" to welcome back the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK following an outcry when comments he'd made in the past – such as calls for Zionists and police to be killed – came to light.

Sir Keir blamed "procedures" 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 perils as the year unfolds. His alliance with the US president acquires a new complication after Trump's military action on Venezuela.

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

Policy Stances and Pressures

He stated he was a "longtime champion of international law" but the public "just haven't got the entire story at the moment".

Some demanded denounce it prior to we spoke. And the government is expected to face further scrutiny to give an definitive view in Parliament in the next few days.

There has also consistently been growing desire in the Labour ranks to revisit some of the results of Brexit.

The PM rejects he's heading in that direction, but his new more concrete pledge to integrate further with the single market – the huge economic European trading zone – will probably elicit accusations that he is reneging on his promise never to try to reverse the choices that flowed from Brexit.

A commitment to cosy up to more of the single market will delight some on his backbenches, but it is prime ammunition for Reform and the Conservatives to