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"I will be sitting in this seat by 2027," the Prime Minister stated, noting that if our conversation proceeded smoothly, he might welcome the interviewer into Number 10 for a follow-up conversation in 2026.

There is never any downtime for leaders. Shortly before we sat down, Starmer had been speaking with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and attempting to understand what on earth had occurred in Venezuela, where his key political chum, US President Donald Trump, had recently attacked and captured its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

When our lengthy talk, which was far more extended than usual, had ended, Maduro had been indicted in New York.

A Refresh for the New Year

But as the year commences, the Prime Minister appears to have had a degree of a reboot. Maybe even just a bit of relaxation with his family at Chequers, the prime minister's country retreat.

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

But are he and his supporters deluding themselves if they reckon his standing are poised to turn around?

Leadership Questions

The harsh truth for the prime minister is that many of his fellow MPs are convinced he's ineffective at his job. Several of them would rather take a risk and oust him sooner rather than later.

But Sir Keir was having none of it during our conversation on Saturday morning.

On several occasions he told me he'd be "evaluated at the general election", arguing no one would take his term from him – despite the fact that the best chance of stopping Nigel Farage and Reform UK entering No 10 might be for Labour to change its leader.

"This is the fight of our times and I intend to lead us," he declared.

The Spring Test

The problem for the PM is that he will be judged long before then – in a huge set of elections in May throughout the UK. He attempted to contend, maybe too much, that they are about who runs councils, and who runs the governments in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not a verdict on Westminster.

Accurate – in part. But although he may be reluctant to admit it, No 10 will be judged by those elections too.

This did not stop Sir Keir suggesting that there were no circumstances under which he would resign, should one of his MPs challenged him for the job, if those elections prove disastrous for Labour.

Predicting a Turnaround

He sought to rationalise his low poll ratings by saying the voters was understandably impatient for things to change. He sought to convince the interviewer, and the public, that this year would be distinct.

The economic situation would recover in the face of rising unemployment, he argued, when plans the administration put in place during their initial rocky year began to show results.

• He pledged to empty asylum hotels ahead of the current target date of 2029, but he did not set a firm date on that.
• He said too, with the caveat that it wasn't a done deal, that a peace deal in Ukraine felt a greater possibility now than at any point since Russia's major invasion.
• He disclosed for the first occasion that Western allies were now discussing how to coordinate US and European forces to ensure security for Ukraine – to guard a potential peace.

His central point is that soon the country will "see an improvement".

Political Challenges

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

However, in spite of encountering calls from within his own party for a bolder strategy, with much more political clarity, more vigour, more speed and more urgency, his explanations were well-known ones.

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

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

Sir Keir's challenges are not only because government is challenging, but because he and his colleagues have faltered, even in the recent past.

Regrets and Risks

The PM admitted that he regretted saying he was "delighted" to welcome back the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK following an outcry when comments he'd made in the past – such as calls for Zionists and police to be killed – came to light.

Sir Keir blamed "the system" for not realising what the activist had said before – a more diplomatic way of saying it wasn't his responsibility.

And he is inviting clear political dangers as the year gets going. His friendship with the US president acquires a new jeopardy 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 a long period, the idea he would be comfortable with such action seems implausible.

International Law and Brexit

He stated he was a "lifelong advocate of international law" but the public "simply do not have the complete details at the moment".

Critics demanded denounce it before we spoke. And the government is expected to face more pressure to give an definitive view in Parliament in the coming days.

And there has always been simmering desire in the Labour ranks to undo or remake some of the outcomes of Brexit.

The PM denies he's heading in that direction, but his new firmer commitment to move closer with the European trading bloc – the huge economic European trading zone – will likely provoke protests that he is reneging on his promise never to try to undo the results that flowed from Brexit.

A move to align with more of the single market will satisfy some on his own side, but it is easy fodder for Reform and the Conservatives to