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"I will be sitting in this position by 2027," Starmer declared, noting that if our interview went well, he might invite us into Downing Street for another chat next year.

There is rarely ever time off for leaders. Shortly before the interview began, the PM had been on the phone with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and working to understand exactly what had transpired in Venezuela, where his close ally, US President Donald Trump, had recently launched a strike against and detained its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

By the time the discussion, which was much longer than usual, had ended, Maduro had been indicted in New York.

A Refresh for the New Year

With the year commences, Sir Keir seems to have had a degree of a refresh. Perhaps even just some relaxation with loved ones at Chequers, the prime minister's country retreat.

This appeared to have left him in improved morale than at the saggy tail end of 2025, a dreadful year politically for him.

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

Internal Doubts

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

However Sir Keir was rejecting the idea when we spoke on Saturday morning.

Multiple times he insisted he'd be "assessed at the next election", arguing no one would strip his term from him – even if the most effective strategy of stopping Nigel Farage and Reform UK getting to No 10 could be for Labour to replace its leader.

"We are in the battle of our lifetime and I intend to be at the forefront," he declared.

Upcoming Local Votes

The issue for the PM is that he will be scrutinised well ahead of then – in a major set of elections in May across the UK. He tried to protest, perhaps excessively, that they are concerning who runs councils, and who runs the governments in Holyrood or Cardiff – and unrelated to Westminster.

Accurate – up to a point. But although he may not want to admit it, No 10 will be evaluated by those elections too.

Despite this, Sir Keir suggesting that there were no scenario under which he would resign, should a his MPs ran against him for the job, should those elections be very poor for Labour.

Promises of Improvement

He tried to account for his low poll ratings by saying the voters was understandably impatient for things to get better. He aimed to assure the interviewer, and the nation, that this year would be different.

The economic situation would strengthen despite rising unemployment, he said, when policies the government enacted during their first turbulent year began to show results.

• He pledged to empty asylum hotels before the current target date of 2029, although he did not put a new date on that.
• He said too, with the proviso that it wasn't a done deal, that a peace agreement in Ukraine felt more likely now than at any time since Russia's comprehensive invasion.
• He disclosed for the first occasion that Western allies were now considering how to integrate US and European forces to provide security for Ukraine – to protect a potential peace.

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

Political Challenges

The PM may have communicated with greater vigour than I've seen from him for a some time – calmer, perhaps, with more time to talk.

However, in spite of encountering calls from within his own party for a more decisive approach, with increased political clarity, more vigour, more pace and more urgency, his arguments were familiar ones.

When he finds himself in such significant political trouble, does he need a different script?

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

The Prime Minister's challenges are not only because government is challenging, but because he and his team have faltered, including in the recent past.

Controversies and Dangers

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

Starmer blamed "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 inviting evident political perils as the year progresses. His friendship with the US president acquires a new complication after Trump's intervention on Venezuela.

Having interviewed Sir Keir Starmer, a former human rights lawyer who opposed the war in Iraq, over a long period, the idea he would be content with such action seems implausible.

Policy Stances and Pressures

He told me he was a "lifelong advocate of international law" but we "simply lack the complete details at the moment".

Opponents demanded condemn it before the interview. And the administration is likely to face increased demands to give an definitive view in Parliament in the next few days.

There has also long been growing pressure in the Labour party to reverse or renegotiate some of the consequences of Brexit.

Sir Keir denies he's doing that, but his new firmer pledge to align more closely with the EU's single market – the vast economic European trading zone – will likely trigger protests that he is going back on his vow never to try to reverse the decisions that flowed from Brexit.

A decision to cosy up to more of the single market will delight a faction on his own side, but it is easy fodder for Reform and the Conservatives to