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"I will be sitting in the same office by 2027," the Prime Minister declared, adding that if the discussion went well, he might invite us into Downing Street for another talk next year.

There is rarely ever downtime for those in the top job. Shortly before we sat down, Sir Keir had been in calls with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and working to understand precisely had occurred in Venezuela, where his big political chum, US President Donald Trump, had just targeted and seized its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

Once the discussion, which was considerably lengthier than normal, had finished, Maduro had been charged in New York.

Renewed Energy for the New Year

As the year starts, Starmer appears to have had a degree of a reboot. Maybe even just some relaxation with his family at Chequers, the prime minister's country retreat.

This seemed to have put him in better spirits than at the difficult end of 2025, a terrible political year for him.

But are he and his colleagues deluding themselves if they think his political fate are set to turn around?

Party Concerns

The grisly truth for the PM is that a significant number of his fellow MPs believe he's ineffective at his job. A faction of them would sooner take a risk and oust him this year.

But Starmer was having none of it in the interview on Saturday morning.

Multiple times he told me he'd be "assessed at the general election", arguing nobody would remove his five-year mandate from him – even if the optimal path of halting Nigel Farage and Reform UK getting to No 10 may be for Labour to change its leader.

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

The Spring Test

The problem for the prime minister is that he will be assessed far sooner than then – in a huge set of elections in May across the UK. He attempted to contend, perhaps too much, that they are concerning who runs councils, and who runs the governments in Holyrood or Cardiff – and unrelated to Westminster.

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

Despite this, Sir Keir suggesting that there were no circumstances under which he would walk away, should a his MPs ran against him for the job, if those elections be very poor for Labour.

Promises of Improvement

He sought to explain his low poll ratings by saying the voters was naturally eager for things to change. He sought to convince the interviewer, and the public, that the coming months would be a change.

The economic situation would recover notwithstanding rising unemployment, he claimed, when plans the government enacted during their first choppy year began to take effect.

• He committed to close asylum hotels ahead of the current deadline of 2029, although he did not put a firm date on that.
• He added too, with the caveat that it wasn't a done deal, that a settlement in Ukraine felt closer now than at any point since Russia's major invasion.
• He revealed for the first occasion that Western partners were now talking about how to coordinate US and European forces to ensure security for Ukraine – to protect a possible peace.

His core point is that soon the country will "turn the corner".

Familiar Arguments

The PM may have communicated with greater vigour than observed from him for a some time – more relaxed, maybe, with a longer slot to talk.

But despite facing pressure from various quarters for a more decisive strategy, with increased political clarity, more urgency, more speed and more urgency, his arguments were familiar ones.

When he finds himself in this much political trouble, should he consider a new narrative?

No government, and especially not one that has been struggling in the polls for many months, gets everything its as desired.

The Prime Minister's problems are not only because government is challenging, but because he and his colleagues have made mistakes, even in the last few weeks.

Controversies and Dangers

The prime minister admitted that he was sorry for saying he was "pleased" to see the return of the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK after an controversy when past remarks he'd previously made – such as calls for Zionists and police to be killed – came to light.

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

And he is courting evident political risks as the year progresses. His close relationship with the US president takes on a new risk after Trump's strikes on Venezuela.

Having interviewed Sir Keir Starmer, a ex- human rights lawyer who opposed the war in Iraq, over his career, the idea he would be comfortable with such action seems far-fetched.

Policy Stances and Pressures

He stated he was a "lifelong champion of international law" but we "just lack the full picture at the moment".

Opponents called for him to denounce it before the interview. And the government is likely to face further scrutiny to give an clear view in Parliament in the next few days.

And there has consistently been bubbling pressure in the Labour party to undo or remake some of the outcomes of Brexit.

The PM denies he's doing that, but his new more concrete pledge to integrate further with the EU's single market – the vast economic European trading zone – will likely elicit accusations that he is going back on his vow never to try to reverse the decisions that stemmed from Brexit.

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