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"I will be positioned in this office by 2027," Starmer stated, joking that if our interview proceeded smoothly, he might welcome us into his official residence for another talk next year.

There is rarely ever break for leaders. Just an hour before we sat down, the PM had been in calls with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and working to work out what on earth had transpired in Venezuela, where his key ally, US President Donald Trump, had just launched a strike against and detained its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

By the time the discussion, which was much longer than typical, had finished, Maduro had been charged in New York.

A Reboot for the New Year

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

That certainly appeared to have resulted in improved morale than at the sluggish tail end of 2025, a dreadful political year for him.

But are he and his allies kidding themselves if they believe his standing are poised to turn around?

Party Concerns

The harsh reality for the PM is that numerous of his party members are convinced he's not very good at his job. Some of them would sooner gamble and get him out in 2026.

But Starmer was rejecting the idea when we spoke on Saturday morning.

Multiple times he insisted he'd be "assessed at the next election", maintaining nobody would remove his five-year mandate from him – despite the fact that the most effective strategy of halting Nigel Farage and Reform UK getting to No 10 may be for Labour to change leader.

"This is the fight of our lifetime and I intend to guide the party," he declared.

The Spring Test

The problem for the PM is that he will be assessed far sooner than then – in a mega set of elections in May throughout the UK. He tried to protest, perhaps too much, that they are about who runs councils, and who runs the governments in Holyrood or Cardiff – and unrelated to Westminster.

True – to some extent. But although he may be reluctant to concede it, No 10 will be evaluated by those elections too.

Despite this, Sir Keir implying that there were no scenario under which he would walk away, should a his colleagues contested his leadership for the job, should those elections be disastrous for Labour.

An Optimistic Outlook

He attempted to rationalise his unpopularity by saying the voters was understandably anxious for things to improve. He sought to assure the interviewer, and the public, that 2026 would be different.

The economic situation would recover notwithstanding rising unemployment, he said, when policies the administration enacted during their initial choppy year began to take effect.

• He committed to close asylum hotels ahead of the current target date of 2029, although he wouldn't set a firm date on that.
• He said too, with the caveat that it wasn't a foregone conclusion, that a peace deal in Ukraine felt a greater possibility now than at any time since Russia's major invasion.
• He disclosed for the first occasion that Western allies were now considering how to integrate US and European forces to offer security for Ukraine – to protect a possible peace.

His big message is that in 2026 the country will "turn the corner".

A Consistent Script

The prime minister may have spoken with renewed vitality than I've seen from him for a some time – calmer, maybe, with a longer slot to talk.

But despite encountering calls from various quarters for a more decisive strategy, with greater political direction, more dynamism, more speed and more urgency, his points were repeated ones.

Given that he is in considerable political difficulty, does he need a different script?

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

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

Regrets and Risks

The PM expressed regret 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 following an controversy when past remarks he'd previously made – including calls for Zionists and police to be killed – came to light.

Starmer attributed it to "the process" for not realising what the activist had said before – a fancier way of saying not my fault.

And he is inviting clear political risks as the year progresses. His close relationship with the US president takes on a new complication after Trump's military action on Venezuela.

Having interviewed Sir Keir Starmer, a former human rights lawyer who opposed the war in Iraq, over his career, the notion he would be content with this kind of intervention seems implausible.

International Law and Brexit

He told me he was a "longtime proponent of international law" but the public "simply do not have the complete details at the moment".

Critics demanded denounce it prior to we spoke. And the administration is likely to face further scrutiny to give an clear view in Parliament in the near future.

And there has consistently been growing pressure in the Labour ranks to reverse or renegotiate some of the consequences of Brexit.

Sir Keir denies he's heading in that direction, but his new more concrete commitment to align more closely with the single market – the vast economic European trading zone – will likely provoke accusations that he is reneging on his pledge never to try to reverse the results that stemmed from Brexit.

A decision to integrate into more of the single market will delight some on his backbenches, but it is prime ammunition for Reform and the Conservatives to