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"I'll remain in this seat by 2027," Starmer declared, adding that if our discussion went well, he might invite the interviewer into Downing Street for a follow-up talk in 2026.

There is never truly time off for leaders. Shortly before the interview began, the PM had been speaking with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and working to work out exactly what had happened in Venezuela, where his close friend, US President Donald Trump, had recently launched a strike against and detained its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

When the discussion, which was much longer than usual, had ended, Maduro had been charged in New York.

Renewed Energy for the New Year

But as the new year begins, the Prime Minister appears to have had a kind of a refresh. Maybe even just a little downtime with loved ones at Chequers, the prime minister's country retreat.

That certainly appeared to have resulted in a more positive mood than at the difficult end of 2025, a dreadful year politically for him.

But are he and his colleagues kidding themselves if they reckon his fortunes are set to get better?

Party Concerns

The uncomfortable truth for the PM is that a significant number of his colleagues think he's not very good at his job. Several of them would sooner gamble and get him out sooner rather than later.

But Sir Keir was having none of it during our conversation on Saturday morning.

Multiple times he insisted he'd be "evaluated at the poll", arguing nobody would strip his electoral mandate from him – even if the best chance of stopping Nigel Farage and Reform UK getting to No 10 could be for Labour to switch leader.

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

Upcoming Local Votes

The issue for the prime minister is that he will be scrutinised far sooner than then – in a major set of elections in May throughout the UK. He attempted to protest, maybe excessively, that they are about who runs local authorities, and who runs the devolved administrations in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not about Westminster.

Accurate – in part. But even though he may be reluctant to acknowledge it, No 10 will be judged by those elections too.

Despite this, Sir Keir stating that there were no situation under which he would step down, even if a his colleagues ran against him for the job, if those elections be very poor for Labour.

Promises of Improvement

He sought to rationalise his unpopularity by saying the public was naturally eager for things to change. He tried to assure me, and the public, that 2026 would be different.

The economic situation would improve in the face of rising unemployment, he said, when policies the administration implemented during their initial rocky year began to show results.

• He committed to shut asylum hotels before the current deadline of 2029, although he wouldn't put a specific date on that.
• He noted too, with the caveat that it wasn't a done deal, 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 time that Western partners were now discussing how to coordinate US and European forces to offer security for Ukraine – to safeguard a possible peace.

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

A Consistent Script

The prime minister may have communicated with renewed vitality than observed from him for a some time – less tense, perhaps, with more time to talk.

But despite facing pressure from within his own party for a more decisive approach, with greater political direction, more dynamism, more speed and more urgency, his explanations were well-known ones.

When he finds himself in this much political trouble, does he need a different script?

No government, and certainly not one that has been struggling in the polls for many months, has everything its as desired.

Sir Keir's problems are not only because governing is challenging, but because he and his colleagues have made mistakes, including in the last few weeks.

Controversies and Dangers

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

Sir Keir attributed it to "the system" for failing to identify what the activist had said before – a fancier way of saying it wasn't his responsibility.

And he is facing clear political dangers as the year progresses. His alliance with the US president acquires a new jeopardy after Trump's military action on Venezuela.

Based on years of interviewing Sir Keir Starmer, a ex- human rights lawyer who was against the war in Iraq, over many years, the notion he would be content with these events seems far-fetched.

Policy Stances and Pressures

He stated he was a "longtime advocate of international law" but we "simply haven't got the full picture at the moment".

Some demanded denounce it before we spoke. And the government is likely to face more pressure to give an definitive view in Parliament in the next few days.

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

Sir Keir denies he's heading in that direction, but his new firmer commitment to align more closely with the EU's single market – the huge economic European market – will likely trigger howls that he is breaking his promise never to try to reverse the choices that flowed from Brexit.

A commitment to align with more of the single market will satisfy some on his backbenches, but it is simple material for Reform and the Conservatives to