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"I will be sitting in this office by 2027," Starmer stated, adding that if our conversation went well, he might welcome us into his official residence for another chat in the coming year.

There is rarely ever break for those in the top job. In the hour before the interview began, Starmer had been on the phone with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and working to work out precisely had occurred in Venezuela, where his close ally, US President Donald Trump, had just targeted and seized its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

When our interview, which was far more extended than usual, had finished, Maduro had been indicted in New York.

A Refresh for the New Year

As the year starts, Starmer seems to have had a degree of a revitalisation. Maybe even just a little relaxation with his family at Chequers, the prime minister's rural getaway.

That certainly appeared to have put him in a more positive mood than at the difficult tail end of 2025, a dreadful political year for him.

Yet, are he and his allies kidding themselves if they believe 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 think he's underperforming at his job. Several of them would rather take a risk and oust him sooner rather than later.

But Starmer was rejecting the idea in the interview on Saturday morning.

Multiple times he told me he'd be "judged at the poll", insisting no one would take his term from him – even if the most effective strategy of stopping Nigel Farage and Reform UK reaching No 10 may be for Labour to change its leader.

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

Upcoming Local Votes

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

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

This did not stop Sir Keir suggesting that there were no circumstances under which he would step down, even if a his MPs ran against him for the job, if those elections be catastrophic for Labour.

Promises of Improvement

He tried to account for his unpopularity by saying the voters was naturally impatient for things to improve. He sought to convince me, and the public, that 2026 would be distinct.

The economy would strengthen in the face of rising unemployment, he claimed, when policies the administration enacted during their initial choppy year began to take effect.

• He pledged to shut asylum hotels before the current deadline of 2029, but he wouldn't put a new date on that.
• He added too, with the proviso that it was not a done deal, that a peace deal in Ukraine felt more likely now than at any time since Russia's full-scale invasion.
• He revealed for the first time that Western partners were now considering how to integrate US and European forces to offer 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, perhaps, with a longer slot to talk.

However, in spite of encountering pressure from within his own party for a bolder strategy, with increased political vision, more dynamism, more speed and more urgency, his points were well-known ones.

Given that he is in such significant political trouble, does he need a change of tack?

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

Sir Keir's challenges are not only because governing is difficult, but because he and his team have faltered, including in the recent past.

Regrets and Risks

The PM told me that he regretted saying he was "pleased" to welcome back the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK after an outcry when past remarks he'd previously made – including calls for Zionists and police to be killed – came to light.

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

And he is inviting clear political dangers as the year progresses. His friendship with the US president entails a new risk after Trump's strikes on Venezuela.

Having interviewed Sir Keir Starmer, a former human rights lawyer who was against the war in Iraq, over his career, the thought he would be at ease with such action seems far-fetched.

Policy Stances and Pressures

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

Some called for him to condemn it before the interview. And the administration is expected to face further scrutiny to give an clear view in Parliament in the next few days.

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

Sir Keir denies he's doing that, but his new specific pledge to move closer with the European trading bloc – the huge economic European trading zone – will probably provoke protests that he is reneging on his pledge never to try to reverse the choices that flowed from Brexit.

A decision to cosy up to more of the single market will please many on his backbenches, but it is simple material for Reform and the Conservatives to