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"I will remain in this seat by 2027," Starmer remarked, joking that if the interview was successful, he might invite the interviewer into Number 10 for another conversation in 2026.

There is never any break for leaders. Shortly before our chat started, the PM had been in calls with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and working to decipher what on earth had happened in Venezuela, where his close political chum, US President Donald Trump, had just targeted and seized its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

Once our interview, which was far more extended than normal, had concluded, 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 something of a refresh. Perhaps even just a little downtime with his family at Chequers, the prime minister's official country residence.

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

But are he and his colleagues deluding themselves if they reckon his standing are about to turn around?

Internal Doubts

The harsh truth for the leader is that numerous of his fellow MPs are convinced he's not very good at his job. Several of them would rather gamble and remove him sooner rather than later.

However Sir Keir was rejecting the idea in the interview on Saturday morning.

Repeatedly he stated he'd be "judged at the general election", arguing no one would strip his term from him – despite the fact that the best chance of preventing Nigel Farage and Reform UK reaching No 10 may be for Labour to replace leader.

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

The May Elections

The problem for the prime minister is that he will be assessed well ahead of then – in a mega set of elections in May across the UK. He attempted to argue, maybe excessively, that they are concerning who runs councils, and who runs the governments in Holyrood or Cardiff – and unrelated to Westminster.

Accurate – up to a point. But even though he may be reluctant to acknowledge it, No 10 will be judged by those elections too.

This did not stop Sir Keir implying that there were no circumstances under which he would walk away, even if a his MPs contested his leadership for the job, if those elections prove very poor for Labour.

Promises of Improvement

He attempted to rationalise his unpopularity by saying the public was naturally eager for things to change. He sought to convince the interviewer, and the nation, that 2026 would be different.

The economy would recover in the face of rising unemployment, he said, when policies the government enacted during their first turbulent year began to show results.

• He committed to close asylum hotels ahead of the current target date of 2029, but he did not put a new date on that.
• He added too, with the qualification that it was not a certainty, that a peace agreement in Ukraine felt more likely now than at any time since Russia's comprehensive invasion.
• He disclosed for the first occasion that Western partners were now discussing how to combine US and European forces to ensure security for Ukraine – to guard a possible peace.

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

Familiar Arguments

The prime minister may have spoken with renewed vitality than observed from him for a while – calmer, maybe, with a longer slot to talk.

However, in spite of facing calls from many directions for a bolder strategy, with greater political vision, more dynamism, more pace and more urgency, his points were well-known ones.

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

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

Sir Keir's problems are not just because government is challenging, but because he and his colleagues have erred, even in the recent past.

Controversies and Dangers

The prime minister expressed regret that he regretted saying he was "delighted" to welcome back the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK after an backlash when comments he'd previously made – such as calls for Zionists and police to be killed – came to light.

Sir Keir attributed it to "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 dangers as the year gets going. His alliance with the US president acquires a new risk after Trump's intervention on Venezuela.

Having interviewed Sir Keir Starmer, a former human rights lawyer who was against the war in Iraq, over a long period, the notion he would be comfortable with such action seems far-fetched.

International Law and Brexit

He asserted he was a "lifelong champion of international law" but we "just haven't got the full picture at the moment".

Critics demanded condemn it before we spoke. And the government is expected to face further scrutiny to give an clear view in Parliament in the next few days.

There has also long been simmering pressure in the Labour ranks to undo or remake some of the consequences of Brexit.

The PM disputes he's pursuing that, but his new firmer plan to move closer with the EU's single market – the vast economic European trading zone – will likely trigger protests that he is reneging on his vow never to try to undo the results that followed Brexit.

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