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"I will be positioned in the same seat by 2027," the Prime Minister remarked, joking that if the interview went well, he might invite the interviewer into his official residence for another chat in the coming year.

For a PM, there's never truly downtime for leaders. Shortly before the interview began, Sir Keir had been speaking with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and trying to understand what on earth had transpired in Venezuela, where his close ally, US President Donald Trump, had recently targeted and seized its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

When our interview, which was far more extended than usual, had ended, Maduro had been charged in New York.

A Refresh for the New Year

As the new year begins, the Prime Minister seems to have had a degree of a revitalisation. Perhaps even just a little relaxation with his family at Chequers, the prime minister's country retreat.

This appeared to have left him in better spirits than at the saggy end of 2025, a terrible political year for him.

But are he and his supporters kidding themselves if they reckon his standing are set to get better?

Internal Doubts

The harsh truth for the leader is that a significant number of his fellow MPs think he's not very good at his job. Some of them would sooner gamble and oust him in 2026.

However Starmer was dismissing such talk when we spoke on Saturday morning.

Repeatedly he insisted he'd be "judged at the next election", arguing nobody would take his five-year mandate from him – despite the fact that the most effective strategy of halting Nigel Farage and Reform UK reaching No 10 may be for Labour to change its leader.

"We are in the struggle of our lifetime and I plan to be at the forefront," he said.

The May Elections

The issue 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 contend, maybe too much, that they are about who runs local authorities, and who runs the devolved administrations in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not a verdict on Westminster.

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

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

An Optimistic Outlook

He sought to explain his low poll ratings by saying the electorate was understandably eager for things to improve. He sought to persuade me, and the public, that the coming months would be distinct.

The economic situation would improve in the face of rising unemployment, he said, when plans the administration put in place during their first choppy year began to take effect.

• He committed to empty asylum hotels ahead of the current deadline of 2029, although he did not set a firm date on that.
• He said too, with the caveat that it was not a certainty, that a peace agreement in Ukraine felt a greater possibility now than at any point since Russia's comprehensive invasion.
• He stated for the first occasion 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 message is that in 2026 the country will "reach a turning point".

Familiar Arguments

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

However, in spite of facing pressure from various quarters for a more decisive approach, with greater political vision, more dynamism, more speed and more urgency, his explanations were repeated ones.

When he finds himself in such significant political trouble, does he need a change of tack?

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

Sir Keir's challenges are not just because government is hard, but because he and his colleagues have faltered, including in the recent past.

Regrets and Risks

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

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

And he is inviting obvious political perils as the year progresses. His alliance with the US president acquires a new risk 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 notion he would be comfortable with this kind of intervention seems unlikely.

Policy Stances and Pressures

He told me he was a "career-long proponent of international law" but the public "just do not have the entire story 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 growing desire in the Labour party to undo or remake some of the results of Brexit.

Sir Keir disputes he's heading in that direction, but his new more concrete commitment to move closer with the EU's single market – the vast economic European trading zone – will likely provoke howls that he is breaking his vow never to try to overturn the choices that flowed from Brexit.

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