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"I will be sitting in this office by 2027," the Prime Minister stated, noting that if the interview proceeded smoothly, he might invite the interviewer into Number 10 for a follow-up conversation in the coming year.

For a PM, there's rarely ever break for those in the top job. Shortly before the interview began, Starmer had been in calls with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and trying to work out what on earth had occurred in Venezuela, where his key political chum, US President Donald Trump, had just targeted and seized its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

When our lengthy talk, which was far more extended than typical, had concluded, Maduro had been charged in New York.

Renewed Energy for the New Year

As the year commences, Starmer appears to have had a degree of a refresh. Perhaps even just a little downtime with loved ones at Chequers, the prime minister's official country residence.

This seemed to have put him in improved morale than at the saggy end of 2025, a awful annus horribilis for him.

Yet, are he and his allies deluding themselves if they believe his standing are about to get better?

Leadership Questions

The uncomfortable truth for the PM is that many of his party members believe he's underperforming at his job. Several of them would rather take a risk and remove him this year.

However Sir Keir was having none of it during our conversation on Saturday morning.

Multiple times he stated he'd be "assessed at the general election", insisting no one would strip his term from him – even if the most effective strategy of halting Nigel Farage and Reform UK entering No 10 could be for Labour to replace leader.

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

The Spring Test

The problem for the prime minister is that he will be judged far sooner than then – in a major set of elections in May throughout the UK. He tried to contend, maybe too much, that they are concerning who runs councils, 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 be reluctant to concede it, No 10 will be judged by those elections too.

This did not stop Sir Keir implying that there were no circumstances under which he would walk away, should one of his colleagues ran against him for the job, should those elections be disastrous for Labour.

An Optimistic Outlook

He tried to account for his unpopularity by saying the voters was naturally anxious for things to change. He aimed to assure the interviewer, and the nation, that the coming months would be distinct.

The economy would improve in the face of rising unemployment, he claimed, when policies the government put in place during their initial turbulent year began to take effect.

• He vowed to close asylum hotels ahead of the current target date of 2029, although he did not set a specific date on that.
• He said too, with the proviso that it wasn't a done deal, that a settlement in Ukraine felt more likely now than at any point since Russia's comprehensive invasion.
• He disclosed for the first time that Western partners were now considering how to combine US and European forces to provide security for Ukraine – to safeguard a possible peace.

His central message is that in 2026 the country will "see an improvement".

Political Challenges

The PM may have communicated with greater vigour than observed from him for a while – more relaxed, maybe, with a longer slot to talk.

However, in spite of encountering calls from many directions for a more decisive approach, with much more political vision, more urgency, more pace and more immediacy, his arguments were well-known ones.

Given that he is in such significant political trouble, should he consider a new narrative?

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

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

Controversies and Dangers

The prime minister 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 outcry when comments he'd made in the past – such as calls for Zionists and police to be killed – resurfaced.

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 courting obvious political dangers as the year progresses. His close relationship with the US president acquires a new complication after Trump's intervention on Venezuela.

Based on years of interviewing Sir Keir Starmer, a ex- human rights lawyer who opposed the war in Iraq, over a long period, the thought he would be content with these events seems implausible.

International Law and Brexit

He asserted he was a "lifelong champion of international law" but we "simply haven't got the entire story at the moment".

Opponents called for him to condemn it prior to we spoke. And the administration is likely to face increased demands to give an explicit view in Parliament in the next few days.

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

Sir Keir disputes he's heading in that direction, but his new more concrete commitment to move closer with the European trading bloc – the huge economic European trading zone – will probably elicit protests that he is breaking his vow never to try to overturn the results that followed Brexit.

A move to cosy up to more of the single market will please many on his own side, but it is easy fodder for Reform and the Conservatives to