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"I will be positioned in the same seat by 2027," the Prime Minister remarked, adding that if our interview was successful, he might welcome us into Downing Street for a follow-up conversation in the coming year.

There is never truly downtime for leaders. In the hour before we sat down, the PM had been in calls with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and trying to work out exactly what had occurred in Venezuela, where his key ally, US President Donald Trump, had just targeted and seized its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

Once the discussion, which was much longer than usual, had finished, Maduro had been formally accused in New York.

A Refresh for the New Year

As the year commences, Starmer appears to have had something of a revitalisation. Perhaps even just a bit of a rest with his family at Chequers, the prime minister's country retreat.

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

Yet, are he and his supporters being unrealistic if they think his fortunes are about to turn around?

Internal Doubts

The uncomfortable truth for the prime minister is that a significant number of his fellow MPs are convinced he's ineffective at his job. Some of them would rather gamble and remove him sooner rather than later.

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

On several occasions he stated he'd be "assessed at the next election", insisting no one would strip his electoral 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 replace its leader.

"We are in the battle of our lifetime and I plan to guide the party," he said.

The Spring Test

The problem for the prime minister is that he will be scrutinised far sooner than then – in a mega set of elections in May across the UK. He attempted to argue, maybe excessively, that they are about who runs local authorities, and who runs the devolved administrations in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not about Westminster.

Accurate – 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 scenario under which he would walk away, should a his colleagues ran against him for the job, should those elections be catastrophic for Labour.

Promises of Improvement

He sought to account for his unpopularity by saying the electorate was naturally eager for things to change. He aimed to assure me, and the nation, that 2026 would be a change.

The economic situation would recover despite rising unemployment, he argued, when plans the government enacted during their first rocky year began to bear fruit.

• He committed to close asylum hotels before the current target date of 2029, although he did not put a specific date on that.
• He said too, with the caveat that it was not a foregone conclusion, that a peace deal in Ukraine felt a greater possibility now than at any time since Russia's full-scale invasion.
• He disclosed for the first time that Western partners were now talking about how to combine US and European forces to offer security for Ukraine – to protect a possible peace.

His big argument is that soon the country will "reach a turning point".

A Consistent Script

The PM may have spoken with greater vigour than I've seen from him for a some time – calmer, perhaps, with more time to talk.

However, in spite of facing calls from various quarters for a more decisive strategy, with increased political clarity, more vigour, more speed and more urgency, his arguments were repeated ones.

Given that he is in considerable political peril, is a different approach required a different script?

No administration, and especially not one that has been unpopular for an extended period, has everything its own way.

Sir Keir's problems are not just because governing 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 see the return of the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK following an backlash when past remarks he'd previously made – including calls for Zionists and police to be killed – came to light.

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

And he is inviting obvious political risks as the year gets going. His friendship with the US president takes on 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 many years, the idea he would be at ease with these events seems far-fetched.

Policy Stances and Pressures

He stated he was a "lifelong champion of international law" but we "just haven't got the full picture at the moment".

Opponents wanted him to criticise the action before we spoke. And the administration is expected to face more pressure to give an clear view in Parliament in the coming days.

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

The PM denies he's pursuing that, but his new specific commitment to integrate further with the single market – the huge economic European trading zone – will likely trigger howls that he is reneging on his pledge never to try to reverse the choices that followed Brexit.

A decision to cosy up to more of the single market will please some on his backbenches, but it is prime ammunition for Reform and the Conservatives to