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"I will be positioned in the same position by 2027," Starmer declared, adding that if the conversation went well, he might invite us into Number 10 for another chat next year.

There is rarely ever time off for those in the top job. In the hour before the interview began, Sir Keir had been speaking with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and working to work out exactly what had transpired in Venezuela, where his key friend, US President Donald Trump, had just attacked and captured its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

Once the discussion, which was considerably lengthier than usual, had concluded, Maduro had been formally accused in New York.

A Reboot for the New Year

But as the new year begins, the Prime Minister appears to have had a degree of a refresh. Perhaps even just a little relaxation with the family at Chequers, the prime minister's country retreat.

That certainly appeared to have put him in a more positive mood than at the sluggish tail end of 2025, a dreadful annus horribilis for him.

But are he and his allies kidding themselves if they believe his fortunes are set to get better?

Leadership Questions

The grisly truth for the leader is that numerous of his fellow MPs think he's not very good at his job. Some of them would rather take a risk and get him out sooner rather than later.

But Starmer was rejecting the idea during our conversation on Saturday morning.

On several occasions he stated he'd be "evaluated at the general election", maintaining no one would take his term from him – despite the fact that the optimal path of stopping Nigel Farage and Reform UK entering No 10 could be for Labour to switch its leader.

"We are in the battle of our lifetime and I plan to guide the party," he declared.

The Spring Test

The problem for the prime minister is that he will be scrutinised far sooner than then – in a huge set of elections in May throughout the UK. He tried to contend, maybe excessively, that they are concerning who runs councils, and who runs the governments in Holyrood or Cardiff – and unrelated to Westminster.

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

Despite this, Sir Keir implying that there were no scenario under which he would resign, even if one of his colleagues challenged him for the job, should those elections prove catastrophic for Labour.

Predicting a Turnaround

He attempted to explain his low poll ratings by saying the voters was naturally anxious for things to change. He sought to persuade the interviewer, and the public, that the coming months would be distinct.

The economic situation would recover despite rising unemployment, he said, when policies the administration implemented during their initial turbulent year began to bear fruit.

• He pledged to shut asylum hotels ahead of the current deadline of 2029, although he did not set a specific date on that.
• He said too, with the proviso that it wasn't a foregone conclusion, that a settlement in Ukraine felt closer now than at any time since Russia's major invasion.
• He stated for the first time that Western allies were now considering how to integrate US and European forces to offer security for Ukraine – to protect a potential peace.

His central point is that soon the country will "turn the corner".

Political Challenges

The PM may have communicated with more energy than observed from him for a while – more relaxed, perhaps, with a longer slot to talk.

However, in spite of facing demands from various quarters for a bolder strategy, with much more political direction, more urgency, more speed and more immediacy, his points were familiar ones.

When he finds himself in considerable political peril, is a different approach required a different script?

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

The Prime Minister's problems are not just because government is challenging, but because he and his team have erred, including in the last few weeks.

Regrets and Risks

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

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

And he is inviting obvious political dangers as the year unfolds. His friendship with the US president takes on a new complication after Trump's military action on Venezuela.

Having interviewed Sir Keir Starmer, a ex- human rights lawyer who opposed the war in Iraq, over a long period, the notion he would be comfortable with these events seems unlikely.

International Law and Brexit

He stated he was a "career-long champion of international law" but the public "simply lack the complete details at the moment".

Critics called for him to condemn it before we spoke. And the administration is likely to face more pressure to give an clear view in Parliament in the coming days.

There has also always been bubbling 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 commitment to integrate further with the EU's single market – the vast economic European market – will likely trigger howls that he is breaking his vow never to try to reverse the results that followed Brexit.

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