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"I will be sitting in the same position by 2027," Starmer stated, joking that if the interview proceeded smoothly, he might invite the interviewer into Number 10 for another chat in the coming year.

There is never truly break for those in the top job. Just an hour before the interview began, Sir Keir had been in calls with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and trying to understand precisely had transpired in Venezuela, where his close friend, US President Donald Trump, had recently attacked and captured its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

Once our lengthy talk, which was considerably lengthier than typical, had concluded, Maduro had been formally accused in New York.

Renewed Energy for the New Year

But as the year starts, Sir Keir appears to have had a degree of a revitalisation. Maybe even just a little downtime with the family at Chequers, the prime minister's rural getaway.

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

Yet, are he and his supporters kidding themselves if they believe his standing are set to turn around?

Internal Doubts

The uncomfortable reality for the prime minister is that many of his fellow MPs are convinced he's not very good at his job. Several of them would sooner gamble and get him out this year.

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

Repeatedly he told me he'd be "judged at the general election", insisting nobody would take his electoral mandate from him – despite the fact that the most effective strategy of stopping Nigel Farage and Reform UK entering No 10 may be for Labour to replace leader.

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

The May Elections

The problem for the PM is that he will be assessed long before then – in a mega set of elections in May across the UK. He tried to argue, perhaps excessively, that they are concerning who runs local authorities, and who runs the governments in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not a verdict on Westminster.

True – 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 suggesting that there were no scenario under which he would step down, even if 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 public was reasonably anxious for things to get better. He aimed to assure the interviewer, and the public, that the coming months would be distinct.

The economic situation would strengthen notwithstanding rising unemployment, he claimed, when policies the administration put in place during their first rocky year began to bear fruit.

• He committed to shut asylum hotels ahead of the current deadline of 2029, but he wouldn't set a firm date on that.
• He said too, with the caveat that it wasn't a foregone conclusion, that a peace deal in Ukraine felt more likely now than at any time since Russia's comprehensive invasion.
• He disclosed for the first time that Western partners were now considering how to coordinate US and European forces to offer security for Ukraine – to safeguard a potential peace.

His central point is that this year the country will "turn the corner".

Political Challenges

The PM may have spoken with greater vigour than observed from him for a while – less tense, perhaps, with a longer slot to talk.

However, in spite of facing calls from various quarters for a bolder strategy, with greater political direction, more dynamism, more pace and more urgency, his arguments were well-known ones.

Given that he is in such significant political difficulty, should he consider a new narrative?

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

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

Regrets and Risks

The PM expressed regret that he regretted saying he was "delighted" to welcome back the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK following an backlash when past remarks he'd made in the past – such as calls for Zionists and police to be killed – resurfaced.

Sir Keir 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 facing obvious political risks as the year gets going. His alliance with the US president acquires a new jeopardy after Trump's intervention on Venezuela.

Having interviewed Sir Keir Starmer, a former human rights lawyer who was against the war in Iraq, over his career, the thought he would be content with this kind of intervention seems unlikely.

Policy Stances and Pressures

He stated he was a "longtime proponent of international law" but the public "just haven't got the complete details at the moment".

Opponents called for him to denounce it prior to we spoke. And the government is likely to face further scrutiny to give an definitive view in Parliament in the near future.

There has also consistently been bubbling desire in the Labour party to reverse or renegotiate some of the results of Brexit.

Sir Keir disputes he's heading in that direction, but his new specific pledge to move closer with the European trading bloc – the huge economic European market – will likely provoke howls that he is breaking his promise never to try to undo the choices that followed Brexit.

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