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"I'll be sitting in this office by 2027," the Prime Minister remarked, noting that if our discussion went well, he might welcome us into his official residence for another chat in the coming year.

There is never truly break for those in the top job. Shortly before the interview began, the PM had been on the phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and attempting to decipher precisely had happened in Venezuela, where his big ally, US President Donald Trump, had just attacked and captured its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

Once our lengthy talk, which was considerably lengthier than typical, had finished, Maduro had been charged in New York.

A Reboot for the New Year

As the new year begins, the Prime Minister appears to have had a degree of a revitalisation. Maybe even just some a rest with loved ones at Chequers, the prime minister's rural getaway.

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

But are he and his supporters kidding themselves if they reckon his political fate are poised to improve?

Party Concerns

The harsh truth for the prime minister is that numerous of his fellow MPs believe he's ineffective at his job. A faction of them would sooner gamble and oust him sooner rather than later.

But Starmer was dismissing such talk in the interview on Saturday morning.

On several occasions he stated he'd be "evaluated at the poll", arguing no one would take his term from him – even if the most effective strategy of preventing Nigel Farage and Reform UK entering No 10 may be for Labour to change leader.

"We are in the fight of our generation and I aim to guide the party," he said.

The May Elections

The problem for the PM is that he will be scrutinised long before then – in a major set of elections in May across the UK. He sought to protest, maybe too much, that they are about who runs local authorities, and who runs the devolved administrations in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not a verdict on Westminster.

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

Despite this, Sir Keir implying that there were no circumstances under which he would resign, should one of his colleagues contested his leadership for the job, if those elections be very poor for Labour.

Predicting a Turnaround

He attempted to rationalise his unpopularity by saying the public was understandably eager for things to get better. He aimed to persuade the interviewer, and the nation, that the coming months would be distinct.

The economic situation would strengthen notwithstanding rising unemployment, he said, when plans the government enacted during their first choppy year began to bear fruit.

• He committed to close asylum hotels ahead of the current deadline of 2029, although he wouldn't set a firm date on that.
• He said too, with the qualification that it wasn't a foregone conclusion, that a peace deal in Ukraine felt closer now than at any point since Russia's comprehensive invasion.
• He disclosed for the first time that Western partners were now considering how to combine US and European forces to ensure security for Ukraine – to guard a potential peace.

His central argument is that in 2026 the country will "see an improvement".

A Consistent Script

The prime minister may have spoken with more energy than observed from him for a some time – more relaxed, perhaps, with more time to talk.

However, in spite of facing demands from within his own party for a bolder approach, with greater political direction, more dynamism, more pace and more urgency, his arguments were well-known ones.

Given that he is in such significant political trouble, is a different approach required a different script?

No government, and especially not one that has been unpopular for an extended period, gets everything its as desired.

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

Controversies and Dangers

The PM told me 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 outcry when statements he'd previously made – such as calls for Zionists and police to be killed – came to light.

Starmer blamed "the system" for not catching what the activist had said before – a more diplomatic way of saying not my fault.

And he is courting clear political risks as the year progresses. His alliance with the US president entails a new risk after Trump's intervention on Venezuela.

Having interviewed Sir Keir Starmer, a ex- human rights lawyer who was against the war in Iraq, over many years, the idea he would be content with such action seems implausible.

International Law and Brexit

He asserted he was a "lifelong advocate of international law" but we "simply haven't got the entire story at the moment".

Opponents called for him to criticise the action before we spoke. And the administration is likely to face increased demands to give an definitive view in Parliament in the near future.

And there has always been growing tension in the Labour party to revisit some of the results of Brexit.

The PM disputes he's pursuing that, but his new specific pledge to integrate further with the EU's single market – the huge economic European trading zone – will likely provoke howls that he is reneging on his vow never to try to undo the results that flowed from Brexit.

A commitment 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