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"I will be positioned in this seat by 2027," the Prime Minister stated, adding that if our conversation proceeded smoothly, he might welcome us into his official residence for a follow-up chat next year.

There is rarely ever break for leaders. Shortly before our chat started, Sir Keir had been on the phone with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and working to understand exactly what had occurred in Venezuela, where his close political chum, US President Donald Trump, had recently targeted and seized its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

Once the discussion, which was considerably lengthier than usual, had ended, Maduro had been indicted in New York.

A Reboot for the New Year

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

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

Yet, are he and his colleagues kidding themselves if they think his fortunes are about to improve?

Leadership Questions

The grisly reality for the leader is that many of his party members believe he's ineffective at his job. Several of them would rather gamble and remove him this year.

But Starmer was rejecting the idea in the interview on Saturday morning.

Repeatedly he stated he'd be "evaluated at the general election", insisting no one would take his five-year mandate from him – despite the fact that the best chance of stopping 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 intend to guide the party," he affirmed.

The Spring Test

The challenge for the PM is that he will be scrutinised far sooner than then – in a major set of elections in May throughout 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 not about Westminster.

True – in part. But even though he may not want to admit it, No 10 will be judged by those elections too.

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

Predicting a Turnaround

He sought to account for his unpopularity by saying the electorate was understandably impatient for things to improve. He sought to persuade me, and the public, that this year would be a change.

The economic situation would strengthen notwithstanding rising unemployment, he said, when policies the administration enacted during their initial turbulent year began to bear fruit.

• He vowed to close asylum hotels ahead of the current deadline of 2029, but he wouldn't set a firm date on that.
• He added too, with the proviso that it was not a certainty, that a settlement in Ukraine felt a greater possibility now than at any time since Russia's major invasion.
• He disclosed for the first occasion that Western partners were now talking about how to integrate US and European forces to ensure security for Ukraine – to guard a potential peace.

His central argument is that soon the country will "see an improvement".

Political Challenges

The PM may have spoken with renewed vitality than I've seen from him for a while – more relaxed, maybe, with more time to talk.

However, in spite of facing demands from many directions for a more decisive approach, with greater political clarity, more urgency, more speed and more immediacy, his points were well-known ones.

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

No administration, and especially not one that has been struggling in the polls for many months, has everything its own way.

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

Regrets and Risks

The PM told me that he regretted saying he was "delighted" to see the return of the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK following an controversy when past remarks he'd previously made – including calls for Zionists and police to be killed – came to light.

Starmer attributed it to "the process" for not catching what the activist had said before – a more diplomatic way of saying it wasn't his responsibility.

And he is inviting evident political dangers as the year gets going. His alliance with the US president entails a new jeopardy after Trump's military action on Venezuela.

Having interviewed Sir Keir Starmer, a former human rights lawyer who opposed the war in Iraq, over his career, the thought he would be content with this kind of intervention seems unlikely.

International Law and Brexit

He stated he was a "lifelong champion of international law" but we "just do not have the full picture at the moment".

Critics called for him to condemn it before the interview. And the government is likely to face increased demands to give an definitive view in Parliament in the near future.

There has also consistently been bubbling tension in the Labour ranks to revisit some of the outcomes of Brexit.

The PM disputes he's doing that, but his new firmer plan to align more closely with the EU's single market – the huge economic European market – will probably provoke howls that he is breaking his pledge never to try to undo the results that stemmed from Brexit.

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