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"I'll remain in this position by 2027," Starmer stated, noting that if our conversation proceeded smoothly, he might welcome the interviewer into Number 10 for a follow-up chat next year.

There is never any break for leaders. Shortly before we sat down, Sir Keir had been in calls with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and attempting to decipher precisely had happened in Venezuela, where his big political chum, US President Donald Trump, had just targeted and seized its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

Once our interview, which was much longer than usual, had finished, Maduro had been indicted in New York.

A Refresh for the New Year

With the year starts, Sir Keir seems to have had something of a refresh. Maybe even just a little a rest with his family at Chequers, the prime minister's country retreat.

That certainly appeared to have resulted in improved morale than at the difficult conclusion of 2025, a awful year politically for him.

Yet, are he and his supporters deluding themselves if they think his standing are set to get better?

Leadership Questions

The grisly truth for the leader is that numerous of his colleagues think he's not very good at his job. Several of them would sooner take a risk and oust him in 2026.

However Sir Keir was having none of it in the interview on Saturday morning.

On several occasions he told me he'd be "evaluated at the poll", insisting no one would take his electoral mandate from him – even if the best chance of stopping Nigel Farage and Reform UK entering No 10 might be for Labour to replace leader.

"This is the struggle of our generation and I aim to be at the forefront," he said.

The Spring Test

The challenge for the prime minister is that he will be assessed well ahead of then – in a mega set of elections in May across the UK. He attempted to protest, perhaps excessively, that they are concerning who runs local authorities, and who runs the governments in Holyrood or Cardiff – and unrelated to Westminster.

Accurate – to some extent. But although he may be reluctant to admit it, No 10 will be held accountable by those elections too.

Despite this, Sir Keir suggesting that there were no scenario under which he would resign, should a his colleagues ran against him for the job, should those elections be catastrophic for Labour.

Predicting a Turnaround

He sought to rationalise his unpopularity by saying the public was understandably eager for things to get better. He tried to assure me, and the nation, that the coming months would be distinct.

The economic situation would improve notwithstanding rising unemployment, he argued, when policies the administration enacted during their initial rocky year began to take effect.

• He pledged to close asylum hotels ahead of the current deadline of 2029, although he did not put a firm date on that.
• He added too, with the qualification that it wasn't a foregone conclusion, that a peace deal in Ukraine felt a greater possibility now than at any point since Russia's comprehensive invasion.
• He disclosed for the first time that Western allies were now considering how to coordinate US and European forces to ensure security for Ukraine – to protect a potential peace.

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

Familiar Arguments

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.

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

Given that he is in considerable political difficulty, should he consider a change of tack?

No administration, and certainly not one that has been unpopular for many months, gets everything its as desired.

The Prime Minister's problems are not just because government is challenging, but because he and his colleagues have erred, including in the recent past.

Regrets and Risks

The PM expressed regret that he regretted saying he was "happy" to welcome back the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK following an controversy when past remarks he'd made in the past – including calls for Zionists and police to be killed – came to light.

Starmer blamed "the system" for failing to identify what the activist had said before – a fancier way of saying it wasn't his responsibility.

And he is facing evident political perils as the year unfolds. His close relationship with the US president entails a new jeopardy after Trump's military action on Venezuela.

Having interviewed Sir Keir Starmer, a ex- human rights lawyer who opposed the war in Iraq, over a long period, the thought he would be comfortable with such action seems far-fetched.

International Law and Brexit

He asserted he was a "longtime proponent of international law" but we "just do not have the complete details at the moment".

Critics called for him to criticise the action before we spoke. And the administration is likely to face further scrutiny to give an explicit view in Parliament in the near future.

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

The PM disputes he's doing that, but his new firmer pledge to integrate further with the single market – the vast economic European trading zone – will likely trigger protests that he is reneging on his pledge never to try to reverse the decisions that flowed from Brexit.

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