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"I will remain in the same position by 2027," the Prime Minister stated, noting that if the conversation proceeded smoothly, he might invite the interviewer into his official residence for another chat in 2026.

For a PM, there's rarely ever time off for prime ministers. In the hour before the interview began, Starmer had been in calls with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and trying to work out exactly what had occurred in Venezuela, where his key ally, US President Donald Trump, had recently launched a strike against and detained its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

When the discussion, which was much longer than usual, had finished, Maduro had been formally accused in New York.

A Reboot for the New Year

As the year starts, Sir Keir appears to have had a kind of a revitalisation. Perhaps even just some relaxation with the family at Chequers, the prime minister's country retreat.

This seemed to have resulted in a more positive mood than at the saggy conclusion of 2025, a awful political year for him.

Yet, are he and his allies deluding themselves if they think his fortunes are about to improve?

Party Concerns

The harsh reality for the prime minister is that many of his fellow MPs are convinced he's not very good at his job. Some of them would sooner take a risk and remove him sooner rather than later.

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

On several occasions he stated he'd be "assessed at the next election", maintaining no one would remove his five-year mandate from him – even if the optimal path of preventing Nigel Farage and Reform UK getting to No 10 could be for Labour to switch its leader.

"This is the struggle of our times and I plan to be at the forefront," he said.

The May Elections

The issue for the PM is that he will be scrutinised well ahead of then – in a huge set of elections in May across the UK. He attempted to argue, maybe too much, that they are concerning who runs local authorities, and who runs the devolved administrations in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not about Westminster.

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

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

Predicting a Turnaround

He sought to explain his low poll ratings by saying the public was reasonably anxious for things to get better. He aimed to persuade me, and the public, that the coming months would be distinct.

The economic situation would strengthen notwithstanding rising unemployment, he said, when strategies the government implemented during their initial rocky year began to take effect.

• He vowed to empty asylum hotels before the current target date of 2029, but he wouldn't set a firm date on that.
• He added too, with the proviso that it was not a foregone conclusion, that a settlement in Ukraine felt a greater possibility now than at any time since Russia's major invasion.
• He revealed for the first occasion that Western allies were now talking about how to coordinate US and European forces to provide security for Ukraine – to protect a potential peace.

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

A Consistent Script

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

But despite facing calls from many directions for a bolder approach, with much more political clarity, more vigour, more speed and more immediacy, his arguments were repeated ones.

Given that he is in this much political peril, should he consider a different script?

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

Sir Keir's challenges are not just because governing is difficult, but because he and his colleagues have erred, including in the recent past.

Regrets and Risks

The PM expressed regret that he regretted saying he was "happy" to see the return of the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK following an outcry when past remarks he'd previously made – including calls for Zionists and police to be killed – came to light.

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

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

Based on years of interviewing Sir Keir Starmer, a former human rights lawyer who was against the war in Iraq, over his career, the thought he would be comfortable with this kind of intervention seems far-fetched.

Policy Stances and Pressures

He asserted he was a "lifelong advocate of international law" but the public "just do not have the entire story at the moment".

Critics called for him to denounce it prior to the interview. And the administration is likely to face more pressure to give an clear view in Parliament in the near future.

And there has long been growing tension in the Labour party to undo or remake some of the consequences of Brexit.

Sir Keir disputes he's doing that, but his new specific plan to integrate further with the EU's single market – the vast economic European market – will likely elicit howls that he is reneging on his promise never to try to undo the decisions that followed Brexit.

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