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"I'll be positioned in the same position by 2027," Starmer declared, noting that if the interview proceeded smoothly, he might invite us into Number 10 for a follow-up chat in 2026.

There is never truly time off for those in the top job. Shortly before the interview began, the PM had been on the phone with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and working to work out what on earth had occurred in Venezuela, where his big political chum, US President Donald Trump, had just launched a strike against and detained its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

By the time the discussion, which was much longer than usual, had finished, Maduro had been charged in New York.

A Reboot for the New Year

With the year commences, Sir Keir seems to have had something of a reboot. Maybe even just a bit of relaxation with the family at Chequers, the prime minister's country retreat.

This appeared to have left him in a more positive mood than at the sluggish conclusion of 2025, a dreadful political year for him.

Yet, are he and his allies kidding themselves if they believe his standing are poised to improve?

Leadership Questions

The uncomfortable reality for the prime minister is that many of his fellow MPs are convinced he's ineffective at his job. A faction of them would sooner gamble and get him out in 2026.

But Sir Keir was rejecting the idea when we spoke on Saturday morning.

On several occasions he stated he'd be "judged at the poll", insisting no one would take his electoral mandate from him – despite the fact that the best chance of halting Nigel Farage and Reform UK getting to No 10 could be for Labour to change its leader.

"This is the struggle of our lifetime and I plan to guide the party," he said.

The May Elections

The issue for the PM is that he will be assessed far sooner than then – in a major set of elections in May throughout the UK. He sought to protest, maybe too much, that they are about who runs local authorities, 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 concede it, No 10 will be held accountable by those elections too.

Despite this, Sir Keir suggesting that there were no situation under which he would walk away, even if one of his colleagues ran against him for the job, should those elections prove very poor for Labour.

Promises of Improvement

He tried to account for his unpopularity by saying the electorate was naturally eager for things to get better. He aimed to persuade the interviewer, and the public, that the coming months would be distinct.

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

• He vowed to shut asylum hotels ahead of the current target date of 2029, although he wouldn't put a specific date on that.
• He noted too, with the proviso that it was not a done deal, that a peace agreement in Ukraine felt a greater possibility now than at any time since Russia's full-scale invasion.
• He revealed for the first occasion that Western allies were now talking about how to combine US and European forces to provide security for Ukraine – to protect a possible peace.

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

Familiar Arguments

The prime minister may have communicated with more energy than observed from him for a while – more relaxed, perhaps, with more time to talk.

But despite facing demands from various quarters for a more decisive strategy, with much more political vision, more vigour, more speed and more urgency, his explanations were familiar ones.

When he finds himself in considerable political difficulty, should he consider a new narrative?

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

Sir Keir's challenges are not just because government is hard, but because he and his colleagues have made mistakes, including in the recent past.

Controversies and Dangers

The PM admitted 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 made in the past – including calls for Zionists and police to be killed – came to light.

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

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

Based on years of interviewing Sir Keir Starmer, a ex- human rights lawyer who opposed the war in Iraq, over a long period, the notion he would be comfortable with this kind of intervention seems implausible.

Policy Stances and Pressures

He stated he was a "career-long proponent of international law" but we "just do not have the entire story at the moment".

Critics called for him to condemn it before we spoke. And the administration is expected to face increased demands to give an clear view in Parliament in the coming days.

There has also always been growing tension in the Labour ranks to undo or remake some of the results of Brexit.

Sir Keir disputes he's pursuing that, but his new more concrete commitment to integrate further with the European trading bloc – the huge economic European market – will likely provoke accusations that he is breaking his promise never to try to reverse the choices that followed Brexit.

A decision to align with more of the single market will please many on his side of the party, but it is prime ammunition for Reform and the Conservatives to