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"I will be sitting in this seat by 2027," Starmer stated, adding that if our conversation was successful, he might invite us into Number 10 for another conversation next year.

There is never truly time off for prime ministers. Just an hour before our chat started, Starmer had been in calls with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and trying to work out exactly what had happened in Venezuela, where his close ally, US President Donald Trump, had recently attacked and captured its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

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

A Reboot for the New Year

With the year commences, Starmer appears to have had a degree of a refresh. Maybe even just a little downtime with his family at Chequers, the prime minister's official country residence.

This appeared to have left him in a more positive mood than at the sluggish conclusion of 2025, a terrible political year for him.

But are he and his allies kidding themselves if they reckon his political fate are poised to get better?

Leadership Questions

The harsh truth for the prime minister is that a significant number of his fellow MPs think he's not very good at his job. A faction of them would rather gamble and remove him in 2026.

But Sir Keir was having none of it when we spoke on Saturday morning.

Multiple times he told me he'd be "judged at the general election", insisting no one would remove his electoral mandate from him – even if the best chance of stopping Nigel Farage and Reform UK getting to No 10 could be for Labour to switch its leader.

"We are in the battle of our times and I aim to be at the forefront," he declared.

The May Elections

The challenge for the PM is that he will be assessed well ahead of then – in a mega set of elections in May across the UK. He tried to argue, perhaps excessively, that they are concerning who runs councils, and who runs the devolved administrations in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not a verdict on Westminster.

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

This did not stop Sir Keir stating that there were no circumstances under which he would resign, even if a his colleagues contested his leadership for the job, if those elections be disastrous for Labour.

Predicting a Turnaround

He sought to explain his low poll ratings by saying the public was understandably anxious for things to get better. He aimed to assure the interviewer, and the nation, that 2026 would be distinct.

The economy would improve in the face of rising unemployment, he said, when policies the administration enacted during their initial choppy year began to bear fruit.

• He pledged to close asylum hotels ahead of the current deadline of 2029, but he did not put a specific date on that.
• He added too, with the caveat that it wasn't a foregone conclusion, that a peace agreement in Ukraine felt closer now than at any time since Russia's major invasion.
• He disclosed for the first time that Western partners were now discussing how to integrate US and European forces to offer security for Ukraine – to protect a potential peace.

His core message is that soon the country will "reach a turning point".

Familiar Arguments

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

But despite facing pressure from many directions for a more decisive approach, with greater political clarity, more dynamism, more speed and more urgency, his arguments were well-known ones.

When he finds himself in such significant political difficulty, does he need a new narrative?

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

Sir Keir's problems are not only because governing is challenging, but because he and his colleagues have faltered, including in the recent past.

Controversies and Dangers

The prime minister admitted 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 statements he'd previously made – such as calls for Zionists and police to be killed – surfaced.

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

And he is inviting clear political perils as the year gets going. His friendship with the US president acquires a new jeopardy after Trump's strikes on Venezuela.

Based on years of interviewing Sir Keir Starmer, a former human rights lawyer who opposed the war in Iraq, over many years, the thought he would be comfortable with this kind of intervention seems implausible.

Policy Stances and Pressures

He asserted he was a "career-long advocate of international law" but the public "simply lack the complete details at the moment".

Some wanted him to denounce it before the interview. And the government is likely to face more pressure to give an clear view in Parliament in the near future.

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

Sir Keir disputes he's heading in that direction, but his new more concrete plan to move closer with the European trading bloc – the huge economic European market – will probably trigger accusations that he is going back on his vow never to try to reverse the decisions that stemmed from Brexit.

A decision to integrate into more of the single market will satisfy some on his side of the party, but it is simple material for Reform and the Conservatives to