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"I will remain in this office by 2027," Starmer remarked, noting that if our discussion proceeded smoothly, he might invite the interviewer into Downing Street for a follow-up conversation in the coming year.

There is rarely ever time off for prime ministers. In the hour before we sat down, the PM had been in calls with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and attempting to decipher what on earth had occurred in Venezuela, where his key ally, US President Donald Trump, had recently launched a strike against and detained its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

Once our lengthy talk, which was much longer than normal, had ended, Maduro had been charged in New York.

A Reboot for the New Year

As the year commences, the Prime Minister appears to have had a degree of a revitalisation. Maybe even just a bit of relaxation with loved ones at Chequers, the prime minister's country retreat.

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

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

Leadership Questions

The harsh truth for the prime minister is that numerous of his party members are convinced he's ineffective at his job. Some of them would sooner gamble and get him out this year.

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

Repeatedly he insisted he'd be "evaluated at the poll", maintaining nobody would strip his five-year mandate from him – even if the best chance of preventing Nigel Farage and Reform UK getting to No 10 may be for Labour to change leader.

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

The Spring Test

The problem for the PM is that he will be assessed long before then – in a major set of elections in May across the UK. He attempted to protest, perhaps excessively, that they are concerning who runs councils, and who runs the governments in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not about Westminster.

True – up to a point. But even though he may be reluctant to admit it, No 10 will be evaluated by those elections too.

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

Promises of Improvement

He sought to rationalise his low poll ratings by saying the public was understandably anxious for things to get better. He aimed to persuade the interviewer, and the public, that this year would be a change.

The economy would improve despite rising unemployment, he claimed, when plans the administration enacted during their initial rocky year began to take effect.

• He pledged to shut asylum hotels ahead of the current target date of 2029, but he did not set a firm date on that.
• He noted too, with the qualification that it wasn't a done deal, that a peace deal in Ukraine felt closer now than at any time since Russia's comprehensive invasion.
• He revealed for the first time that Western allies were now talking about how to integrate US and European forces to ensure security for Ukraine – to protect a possible peace.

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

A Consistent Script

The prime minister may have spoken with more energy than observed from him for a while – less tense, perhaps, with a longer slot to talk.

However, in spite of encountering calls from various quarters for a more decisive strategy, with greater political direction, more urgency, more pace and more urgency, his points were well-known ones.

Given that he is in this much political trouble, does he need a change of tack?

No administration, and certainly not one that has been unpopular for many months, has everything its as planned.

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

Controversies and Dangers

The PM told me that he was sorry for saying he was "happy" to see the return of the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK after an backlash when past remarks he'd previously made – including calls for Zionists and police to be killed – surfaced.

Starmer blamed "the system" for failing to identify what the activist had said before – a more diplomatic way of saying it wasn't his responsibility.

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

Having interviewed Sir Keir Starmer, a former human rights lawyer who opposed the war in Iraq, over many years, the idea he would be comfortable with these events seems far-fetched.

Policy Stances and Pressures

He stated he was a "career-long champion of international law" but we "just do not have the complete details at the moment".

Critics demanded denounce it before the interview. And the administration is likely to face further scrutiny to give an definitive view in Parliament in the next few days.

There has also consistently been growing desire in the Labour ranks to revisit some of the results of Brexit.

The PM denies he's heading in that direction, but his new more concrete commitment to move closer with the single market – the vast economic European market – will probably provoke protests that he is breaking his vow never to try to undo the results that flowed from Brexit.

A decision to integrate into more of the single market will please a faction on his side of the party, but it is easy fodder for Reform and the Conservatives to