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"I'll be sitting in the same seat by 2027," the Prime Minister stated, noting that if our interview proceeded smoothly, he might welcome us into his official residence for another chat next year.

For a PM, there's rarely ever downtime for those in the top job. Shortly before the interview began, Sir Keir had been speaking with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and attempting to work out precisely had transpired in Venezuela, where his big political chum, US President Donald Trump, had just launched a strike against and detained its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

Once the discussion, which was much longer than typical, had concluded, Maduro had been indicted in New York.

Renewed Energy for the New Year

As the new year begins, Starmer seems to have had something of a revitalisation. Maybe even just a little relaxation with loved ones at Chequers, the prime minister's official country residence.

That certainly appeared to have put him in better spirits than at the sluggish tail end of 2025, a terrible annus horribilis for him.

Yet, are he and his allies deluding themselves if they believe his standing are about to improve?

Internal Doubts

The harsh reality for the prime minister is that numerous of his colleagues are convinced he's underperforming at his job. A faction of them would rather take a risk and oust him sooner rather than later.

But Starmer was dismissing such talk in the interview on Saturday morning.

Repeatedly he told me he'd be "judged at the next election", maintaining no one would remove his term from him – despite the fact that the optimal path of halting Nigel Farage and Reform UK getting to No 10 might be for Labour to replace its leader.

"This is the fight of our lifetime and I aim to be at the forefront," he said.

The May Elections

The problem for the prime minister is that he will be judged well ahead of then – in a mega set of elections in May throughout the UK. He sought to contend, perhaps excessively, that they are about who runs local authorities, and who runs the governments in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not about Westminster.

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

Despite this, Sir Keir suggesting that there were no circumstances under which he would walk away, should one of his colleagues challenged him for the job, if those elections be very poor for Labour.

Promises of Improvement

He tried to rationalise his low poll ratings by saying the public was naturally impatient for things to improve. He aimed to persuade the interviewer, and the nation, that 2026 would be different.

The economic situation would improve despite rising unemployment, he argued, when plans the administration implemented during their initial rocky year began to bear fruit.

• He committed to close asylum hotels ahead of the current deadline of 2029, but he wouldn't set a new date on that.
• He added too, with the proviso that it wasn't a foregone conclusion, that a settlement in Ukraine felt a greater possibility now than at any point since Russia's comprehensive invasion.
• He revealed for the first occasion that Western allies were now considering how to coordinate US and European forces to provide security for Ukraine – to safeguard a potential peace.

His big point is that soon the country will "see an improvement".

Familiar Arguments

The prime minister may have communicated with renewed vitality than observed from him for a while – more relaxed, maybe, with a longer slot to talk.

But despite encountering pressure from within his own party for a more decisive approach, with increased political vision, more dynamism, more pace and more immediacy, his explanations were well-known ones.

Given that he is in considerable political difficulty, does he need a new narrative?

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

The Prime Minister's challenges are not just because governing is hard, but because he and his colleagues have made mistakes, including in the recent past.

Regrets and Risks

The prime minister told me that he was sorry for saying he was "happy" to see the return of the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK after an backlash when statements he'd previously made – such as calls for Zionists and police to be killed – surfaced.

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

And he is courting obvious political perils as the year unfolds. His close relationship with the US president acquires a new risk after Trump's strikes on Venezuela.

Having interviewed Sir Keir Starmer, a ex- human rights lawyer who opposed the war in Iraq, over many years, the notion he would be comfortable with these events seems implausible.

International Law and Brexit

He stated he was a "longtime proponent of international law" but we "simply haven't got the entire story at the moment".

Critics demanded denounce it before we spoke. And the government is likely to face further scrutiny to give an clear view in Parliament in the next few days.

And there has always been simmering tension in the Labour ranks to reverse or renegotiate some of the results of Brexit.

Sir Keir disputes he's doing that, but his new specific pledge to integrate further with the single market – the vast economic European market – will likely elicit protests that he is breaking his pledge never to try to overturn the results that stemmed from Brexit.

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