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"I'll remain in the same seat by 2027," the Prime Minister stated, noting that if our interview was successful, he might invite the interviewer into his official residence for a follow-up conversation in 2026.

There is never any downtime for prime ministers. In the hour before we sat down, the PM had been in calls with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and attempting to understand precisely had occurred in Venezuela, where his key political chum, US President Donald Trump, had just attacked and captured its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

When the discussion, which was considerably lengthier than usual, had ended, Maduro had been indicted in New York.

Renewed Energy for the New Year

With the year commences, Starmer appears to have had a degree of a refresh. Perhaps even just a little a rest with loved ones at Chequers, the prime minister's official country residence.

That certainly seemed to have resulted in better spirits than at the difficult end of 2025, a dreadful political year for him.

Yet, are he and his supporters deluding themselves if they reckon his standing are about to improve?

Leadership Questions

The uncomfortable reality for the prime minister is that many of his colleagues are convinced he's underperforming at his job. Some of them would sooner gamble and remove him this year.

However Sir Keir was rejecting the idea during our conversation on Saturday morning.

On several occasions he told me he'd be "evaluated at the poll", insisting no one would strip his electoral mandate from him – despite the fact that the best chance of halting Nigel Farage and Reform UK getting to No 10 could be for Labour to replace its leader.

"We are in the fight of our times and I plan to guide the party," he affirmed.

Upcoming Local Votes

The issue for the prime minister is that he will be assessed well ahead of then – in a major set of elections in May across the UK. He attempted to contend, maybe too much, that they are concerning who runs councils, and who runs the devolved administrations in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not a verdict on Westminster.

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

This did not stop Sir Keir suggesting that there were no circumstances under which he would resign, should one of his colleagues ran against him for the job, if those elections prove very poor for Labour.

An Optimistic Outlook

He sought to rationalise his low poll ratings by saying the voters was reasonably anxious for things to get better. He tried to persuade me, and the nation, that this year would be distinct.

The economic situation would improve notwithstanding rising unemployment, he said, when plans the administration implemented during their first rocky year began to show results.

• He pledged to empty asylum hotels ahead of the current deadline of 2029, although he did not set a specific date on that.
• He added too, with the caveat that it wasn't a done deal, that a settlement in Ukraine felt more likely now than at any time since Russia's full-scale invasion.
• He revealed for the first occasion that Western allies were now talking about how to integrate US and European forces to offer security for Ukraine – to protect a potential peace.

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

Political Challenges

The PM may have communicated with renewed vitality than I've seen from him for a while – calmer, maybe, with a longer slot to talk.

But despite facing pressure from many directions for a more decisive strategy, with much more political vision, more urgency, more speed and more immediacy, his arguments were repeated ones.

Given that he is in this much political peril, should he consider a new narrative?

No administration, and especially not one that has been unpopular for many months, has everything its own way.

The Prime Minister's problems are not just because governing is difficult, but because he and his colleagues have erred, including in the recent past.

Regrets and Risks

The PM told me 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 after an backlash when past remarks he'd made in the past – such as calls for Zionists and police to be killed – surfaced.

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

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

Having interviewed Sir Keir Starmer, a ex- human rights lawyer who was against the war in Iraq, over his career, the thought he would be at ease with these events seems implausible.

Policy Stances and Pressures

He asserted he was a "lifelong champion of international law" but we "simply do not have the full picture at the moment".

Some wanted him to condemn it prior to the interview. And the government is expected to face increased demands to give an definitive view in Parliament in the next few days.

There has also long been simmering pressure in the Labour ranks to reverse or renegotiate some of the consequences of Brexit.

The PM denies he's heading in that direction, but his new firmer plan to move closer with the EU's single market – the vast economic European market – will probably trigger accusations that he is breaking his pledge never to try to undo the choices that stemmed from Brexit.

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