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"I will remain in the same seat by 2027," Starmer stated, adding that if the discussion went well, he might invite the interviewer into his official residence for another chat in the coming year.

For a PM, there's never any time off for prime ministers. Shortly before the interview began, Starmer had been on the phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and attempting to decipher what on earth had transpired in Venezuela, where his key ally, US President Donald Trump, had recently attacked and captured its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

Once the discussion, which was far more extended than typical, had concluded, Maduro had been indicted in New York.

A Reboot for the New Year

As the new year begins, the Prime Minister seems to have had a kind of a revitalisation. Maybe even just a bit of a rest with his family at Chequers, the prime minister's official country residence.

That certainly seemed to have left him in a more positive mood than at the sluggish tail end of 2025, a dreadful year politically for him.

Yet, are he and his supporters being unrealistic if they believe his fortunes are set to improve?

Party Concerns

The uncomfortable reality for the leader is that numerous of his fellow MPs believe he's not very good at his job. Several of them would rather take a risk and get him out this year.

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

Multiple times he stated he'd be "assessed at the next election", insisting nobody would take his term from him – despite the fact that the best chance of halting Nigel Farage and Reform UK entering No 10 may be for Labour to switch its leader.

"This is the fight of our generation and I aim to guide the party," he declared.

The Spring Test

The challenge for the PM is that he will be assessed long before then – in a huge set of elections in May throughout the UK. He tried to protest, perhaps excessively, that they are about who runs councils, and who runs the devolved administrations in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not about Westminster.

True – in part. But even though he may not want to concede it, No 10 will be evaluated by those elections too.

Despite this, Sir Keir suggesting that there were no situation under which he would step down, should a his MPs ran against him for the job, if those elections be catastrophic for Labour.

Predicting a Turnaround

He tried to rationalise his low poll ratings by saying the electorate was naturally anxious for things to change. He aimed to persuade me, and the nation, that the coming months would be different.

The economy would strengthen notwithstanding rising unemployment, he said, when plans the government implemented during their first rocky year began to bear fruit.

• He committed to empty asylum hotels ahead of the current deadline of 2029, although he wouldn't set a firm date on that.
• He noted too, with the proviso that it was not a foregone conclusion, that a settlement in Ukraine felt more likely now than at any time since Russia's comprehensive invasion.
• He stated for the first time that Western partners were now talking about how to coordinate US and European forces to ensure security for Ukraine – to safeguard a potential peace.

His big message is that in 2026 the country will "see an improvement".

Familiar Arguments

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

However, in spite of facing pressure from many directions for a more decisive approach, with greater political vision, more urgency, more speed and more immediacy, his points were repeated ones.

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

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

The Prime Minister's challenges are not only because government is challenging, but because he and his team have faltered, even in the last few weeks.

Controversies and Dangers

The PM admitted that he was sorry for saying he was "pleased" to welcome back the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK following an backlash when statements he'd made in the past – such as calls for Zionists and police to be killed – surfaced.

Starmer blamed "the process" for not catching what the activist had said before – a fancier way of saying it wasn't his responsibility.

And he is courting obvious political risks as the year progresses. His close relationship with the US president entails a new jeopardy after Trump's military action on Venezuela.

Having interviewed Sir Keir Starmer, a ex- human rights lawyer who opposed the war in Iraq, over his career, the notion he would be comfortable with these events seems unlikely.

International Law and Brexit

He asserted he was a "career-long proponent of international law" but we "just haven't got the complete details at the moment".

Some called for him to denounce it before the interview. And the administration is expected to face more pressure to give an explicit view in Parliament in the near future.

There has also consistently been simmering pressure in the Labour ranks to revisit some of the outcomes of Brexit.

The PM denies he's doing that, but his new more concrete pledge to integrate further with the European trading bloc – the huge economic European market – will probably elicit howls that he is reneging on his pledge never to try to overturn the results that followed Brexit.

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