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"I'll remain in the same office by 2027," the Prime Minister stated, adding that if our conversation went well, he might welcome us into his official residence for another talk next year.

For a PM, there's never any downtime for leaders. Shortly before we sat down, Starmer had been in calls with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and working to understand what on earth had happened in Venezuela, where his close political chum, US President Donald Trump, had just launched a strike against and detained its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

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

A Reboot for the New Year

But as the new year begins, Sir Keir seems to have had a kind of a revitalisation. Perhaps even just a little relaxation with his family at Chequers, the prime minister's rural getaway.

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

Yet, are he and his colleagues kidding themselves if they believe his fortunes are poised to improve?

Leadership Questions

The grisly reality for the prime minister is that many of his fellow MPs believe he's not very good at his job. A faction of them would sooner take a risk and oust him in 2026.

However Starmer was having none of it during our conversation on Saturday morning.

Multiple times he insisted he'd be "assessed at the general election", arguing no one would take his term from him – even if the optimal path of stopping Nigel Farage and Reform UK getting to No 10 might be for Labour to replace leader.

"This is the struggle of our lifetime and I plan to guide the party," he said.

The May Elections

The problem for the PM is that he will be scrutinised long before then – in a huge set of elections in May throughout the UK. He sought to protest, perhaps excessively, that they are concerning who runs local authorities, and who runs the devolved administrations in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not a verdict on Westminster.

True – to some extent. But even though he may not want to acknowledge it, No 10 will be held accountable by those elections too.

Despite this, Sir Keir implying that there were no situation under which he would walk away, even if a his colleagues ran against him for the job, if those elections be very poor for Labour.

An Optimistic Outlook

He attempted to account for his low poll ratings by saying the public was reasonably eager for things to improve. He tried to convince the interviewer, and the public, that the coming months would be distinct.

The economy would strengthen in the face of rising unemployment, he claimed, when plans the government put in place 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 put a specific date on that.
• He said too, with the proviso that it wasn't a done deal, that a settlement in Ukraine felt more likely 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 argument is that in 2026 the country will "see an improvement".

Political Challenges

The prime minister may have communicated with more energy than I've seen from him for a while – calmer, perhaps, with more time to talk.

But despite facing demands from within his own party for a bolder approach, with much more political vision, more urgency, more pace and more urgency, his points were familiar ones.

When he finds himself in this much political trouble, does he need a change of tack?

No administration, and certainly not one that has been unpopular for an extended period, has everything its as desired.

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

Controversies and Dangers

The PM admitted that he was sorry for saying he was "pleased" to see the return of the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK following an controversy when past remarks he'd made in the past – including calls for Zionists and police to be killed – surfaced.

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

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

Based on years of interviewing Sir Keir Starmer, a ex- human rights lawyer who was against the war in Iraq, over many years, the notion he would be at ease with these events seems unlikely.

Policy Stances and Pressures

He told me he was a "career-long advocate of international law" but we "simply do not have the full picture at the moment".

Critics wanted him to criticise the action before the interview. And the administration is likely to face further scrutiny to give an clear view in Parliament in the coming days.

And there has consistently been simmering pressure in the Labour party to reverse or renegotiate some of the consequences of Brexit.

Sir Keir rejects he's doing that, but his new firmer plan to move closer with the single market – the huge economic European market – will probably provoke accusations that he is going back on his vow never to try to reverse the choices that stemmed from Brexit.

A commitment to integrate into more of the single market will delight a faction on his backbenches, but it is simple material for Reform and the Conservatives to