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"I will be sitting in this office by 2027," Starmer remarked, joking that if our discussion was successful, he might welcome us into Downing Street for another conversation in 2026.

There is never truly break for leaders. Shortly before the interview began, Starmer had been in calls with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and attempting to understand precisely had occurred in Venezuela, where his close ally, US President Donald Trump, had recently launched a strike against and detained its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

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

A Refresh for the New Year

With the year starts, Sir Keir appears to have had something of a reboot. Maybe even just a little relaxation with the family at Chequers, the prime minister's rural getaway.

That certainly appeared to have resulted in a more positive mood than at the difficult tail end of 2025, a terrible year politically for him.

But are he and his supporters kidding themselves if they think his fortunes are poised to get better?

Internal Doubts

The harsh truth for the PM is that a significant number of his fellow MPs are convinced he's underperforming at his job. Several of them would rather gamble and oust him this year.

But Sir Keir was rejecting the idea when we spoke on Saturday morning.

Repeatedly he stated he'd be "assessed at the general election", maintaining nobody would take his term from him – even if the best chance of stopping Nigel Farage and Reform UK entering No 10 could be for Labour to replace its leader.

"This is the fight of our generation and I intend to be at the forefront," he declared.

Upcoming Local Votes

The problem for the PM is that he will be scrutinised well ahead of then – in a mega set of elections in May across the UK. He tried to contend, perhaps too much, that they are about who runs local authorities, and who runs the governments in Holyrood or Cardiff – and unrelated to Westminster.

True – up to a point. But although he may not want to admit it, No 10 will be judged by those elections too.

This did not stop Sir Keir stating that there were no scenario under which he would step down, even if a his MPs challenged him for the job, if those elections prove very poor for Labour.

An Optimistic Outlook

He sought to explain his low poll ratings by saying the voters was naturally eager for things to improve. He sought to convince me, and the nation, that this year would be a change.

The economic situation would recover notwithstanding rising unemployment, he claimed, when plans the administration enacted during their initial choppy year began to show results.

• He pledged to empty asylum hotels before the current deadline of 2029, but he did not put a new date on that.
• He noted too, with the caveat that it was not a certainty, that a peace agreement in Ukraine felt closer now than at any time since Russia's comprehensive invasion.
• He stated for the first time that Western partners were now discussing how to integrate US and European forces to offer security for Ukraine – to safeguard a potential peace.

His core point is that this year the country will "turn the corner".

A Consistent Script

The PM may have communicated with greater vigour than I've seen from him for a while – more relaxed, perhaps, with a longer slot to talk.

However, in spite of facing calls from many directions for a bolder approach, with greater political direction, more dynamism, more pace and more immediacy, his points were repeated ones.

When he finds himself in such significant political difficulty, does he need a different script?

No government, and especially not one that has been unpopular for an extended period, gets everything its as planned.

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

Controversies and Dangers

The prime minister admitted that he regretted saying he was "pleased" to welcome back the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK following an backlash when comments he'd made in the past – including calls for Zionists and police to be killed – resurfaced.

Sir Keir attributed it to "the system" for not catching what the activist had said before – a fancier way of saying not my fault.

And he is courting obvious political perils as the year unfolds. His alliance with the US president acquires a new complication after Trump's military action on Venezuela.

Having interviewed Sir Keir Starmer, a former human rights lawyer who was against the war in Iraq, over his career, the idea he would be at ease with such action seems unlikely.

International Law and Brexit

He asserted he was a "lifelong proponent of international law" but the public "simply do not have the complete details at the moment".

Opponents demanded denounce it prior to the interview. And the administration is expected to face further scrutiny to give an clear view in Parliament in the next few days.

And there has long been simmering desire in the Labour party to revisit some of the outcomes of Brexit.

The PM denies he's doing that, but his new firmer pledge to integrate further with the single market – the huge economic European market – will probably elicit howls that he is reneging on his promise never to try to undo the results that followed Brexit.

A move to integrate into more of the single market will satisfy some on his backbenches, but it is easy fodder for Reform and the Conservatives to