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"I'll remain in this office by 2027," Starmer declared, adding that if the discussion proceeded smoothly, he might invite us into his official residence for another talk in 2026.

There is never truly time off for leaders. Just an hour before we sat down, Starmer had been on the phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and attempting to work out precisely had happened in Venezuela, where his big friend, US President Donald Trump, had just launched a strike against and detained its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

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

Renewed Energy for the New Year

As the year commences, the Prime Minister appears to have had a kind of a refresh. Maybe even just some downtime with loved ones at Chequers, the prime minister's official country residence.

This appeared to have put him in a more positive mood than at the saggy end of 2025, a dreadful year politically for him.

But are he and his supporters deluding themselves if they believe his standing are poised to get better?

Party Concerns

The harsh reality for the PM is that many of his colleagues believe he's underperforming at his job. Several of them would rather gamble and get him out sooner rather than later.

But Sir Keir was rejecting the idea in the interview on Saturday morning.

On several occasions he told me he'd be "assessed at the general election", arguing no one would remove his five-year mandate from him – even if the best chance of halting Nigel Farage and Reform UK reaching No 10 could be for Labour to change leader.

"This is the struggle of our times and I aim to be at the forefront," he affirmed.

The May Elections

The challenge for the PM is that he will be assessed long before then – in a huge set of elections in May throughout the UK. He tried to protest, perhaps excessively, that they are concerning who runs local authorities, and who runs the devolved administrations in Holyrood or Cardiff – and unrelated to Westminster.

Accurate – to some extent. But although he may be reluctant to acknowledge it, No 10 will be held accountable by those elections too.

This did not stop Sir Keir suggesting that there were no circumstances under which he would step down, should a his MPs ran against him for the job, should those elections prove very poor for Labour.

Promises of Improvement

He sought to account for his unpopularity by saying the electorate was understandably eager for things to change. He aimed to assure me, and the public, that the coming months would be a change.

The economic situation would strengthen in the face of rising unemployment, he claimed, when policies the government put in place during their first choppy year began to take effect.

• He pledged to empty asylum hotels before the current deadline of 2029, although he did not put a firm date on that.
• He added too, with the caveat that it was not a done deal, that a peace deal in Ukraine felt more likely now than at any point since Russia's major invasion.
• He disclosed for the first occasion that Western partners were now discussing how to combine US and European forces to offer security for Ukraine – to safeguard a potential peace.

His big point is that in 2026 the country will "reach a turning point".

Familiar Arguments

The prime minister may have communicated with renewed vitality than I've seen from him for a some time – calmer, perhaps, with a longer slot to talk.

However, in spite of encountering pressure from within his own party for a more decisive strategy, with greater political vision, more urgency, more speed and more immediacy, his arguments were familiar ones.

When he finds himself in this much political difficulty, should he consider a change of tack?

No government, and especially not one that has been struggling in the polls for many months, gets everything its own way.

Sir Keir's problems are not just because government is hard, but because he and his team have erred, even in the recent past.

Controversies and Dangers

The prime minister expressed regret that he regretted saying he was "happy" to welcome back the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK after an outcry when comments he'd previously made – including calls for Zionists and police to be killed – surfaced.

Starmer blamed "the process" for not catching what the activist had said before – a more diplomatic way of saying not my fault.

And he is courting clear political dangers as the year unfolds. 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 his career, the thought he would be comfortable with these events seems implausible.

Policy Stances and Pressures

He told me he was a "lifelong proponent of international law" but the public "just do not have the complete details at the moment".

Opponents demanded condemn it prior to we spoke. And the government is likely to face increased demands to give an clear view in Parliament in the coming days.

There has also long been growing tension in the Labour ranks to reverse or renegotiate some of the outcomes of Brexit.

Sir Keir rejects he's doing that, but his new more concrete plan to integrate further with the European trading bloc – the giant economic European trading zone – will probably trigger accusations that he is reneging on his vow never to try to reverse the choices that flowed from Brexit.

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