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"I'll be sitting in this seat by 2027," Starmer remarked, noting that if the interview was successful, he might invite us into Downing Street for another chat in the coming year.

For a PM, there's rarely ever downtime for those in the top job. In the hour before the interview began, the PM had been in calls with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and working to understand precisely had happened in Venezuela, where his big ally, US President Donald Trump, had just attacked and captured its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

When the discussion, which was far more extended than normal, had ended, Maduro had been indicted in New York.

Renewed Energy for the New Year

As the year commences, the Prime Minister seems to have had a degree of a refresh. 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 conclusion of 2025, a dreadful annus horribilis for him.

But are he and his supporters being unrealistic if they reckon his fortunes are set to turn around?

Party Concerns

The grisly truth for the PM is that many of his fellow MPs believe he's not very good at his job. A faction of them would rather gamble and get him out sooner rather than later.

But Starmer was dismissing such talk during our conversation on Saturday morning.

On several occasions he stated he'd be "assessed at the poll", maintaining no one would strip his electoral mandate from him – even if the best chance of stopping Nigel Farage and Reform UK reaching No 10 might be for Labour to replace leader.

"This is the fight of our generation and I aim to guide the party," he affirmed.

Upcoming Local Votes

The challenge for the PM is that he will be judged long before then – in a major set of elections in May throughout the UK. He tried to argue, perhaps too much, that they are concerning who runs local authorities, and who runs the devolved administrations in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not about Westminster.

True – in part. But even though he may be reluctant to admit it, No 10 will be held accountable by those elections too.

Despite this, Sir Keir implying 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 attempted to explain his low poll ratings by saying the electorate was reasonably impatient for things to improve. He sought to convince me, and the nation, that this year would be a change.

The economic situation would improve in the face of rising unemployment, he said, when policies the government enacted during their first rocky year began to bear fruit.

• He pledged to empty asylum hotels before the current target date of 2029, although he wouldn't set a new date on that.
• He noted too, with the proviso that it wasn't a foregone conclusion, that a settlement in Ukraine felt a greater possibility now than at any point since Russia's comprehensive invasion.
• He stated for the first occasion that Western partners were now discussing how to combine US and European forces to ensure security for Ukraine – to guard a potential peace.

His central message is that this year the country will "see an improvement".

Familiar Arguments

The PM may have communicated with more energy than observed from him for a while – less tense, perhaps, with more time to talk.

But despite facing demands from within his own party for a bolder approach, with increased political clarity, more urgency, more speed and more urgency, his arguments were repeated ones.

Given that he is in considerable political difficulty, does he need a change of tack?

No government, and especially not one that has been struggling in the polls for an extended period, has everything its own way.

Sir Keir's challenges are not only because government is challenging, but because he and his team have faltered, even in the last few weeks.

Regrets and Risks

The PM expressed regret that he regretted saying he was "pleased" to welcome back the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK following an outcry when comments he'd previously made – including calls for Zionists and police to be killed – surfaced.

Starmer blamed "procedures" for not realising what the activist had said before – a fancier way of saying it wasn't his responsibility.

And he is courting obvious political perils as the year unfolds. His friendship with the US president takes on a new risk after Trump's military action 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 idea he would be at ease with this kind of intervention seems implausible.

Policy Stances and Pressures

He stated he was a "lifelong advocate of international law" but the public "simply haven't got the entire story at the moment".

Some wanted him to denounce it before the interview. And the administration is likely to face further scrutiny to give an definitive view in Parliament in the coming days.

And there has consistently been growing pressure in the Labour party to undo or remake some of the results of Brexit.

The PM rejects he's doing that, but his new more concrete plan to integrate further with the European trading bloc – the huge economic European trading zone – will probably provoke accusations that he is reneging on his promise never to try to reverse the results that followed Brexit.

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