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"I will be sitting in this seat by 2027," the Prime Minister remarked, noting that if the conversation was successful, he might invite us into his official residence for a follow-up conversation next year.

There is never truly 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 exactly what had happened in Venezuela, where his key political chum, US President Donald Trump, had just launched a strike against and detained its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

When the discussion, which was considerably lengthier than usual, had concluded, Maduro had been formally accused in New York.

A Refresh for the New Year

As the year commences, Sir Keir seems to have had a kind of a reboot. Perhaps even just a little a rest with his family at Chequers, the prime minister's official country residence.

That certainly seemed to have resulted in better spirits than at the difficult end of 2025, a dreadful year politically for him.

Yet, are he and his supporters deluding themselves if they believe his fortunes are about to improve?

Party Concerns

The harsh truth for the leader is that numerous of his colleagues think he's not very good at his job. Some of them would sooner gamble and get him out sooner rather than later.

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

On several occasions he stated he'd be "evaluated at the general election", insisting nobody would take his term from him – even if the best chance of preventing Nigel Farage and Reform UK entering No 10 may be for Labour to switch leader.

"We are in the struggle of our generation and I intend to be at the forefront," he said.

The Spring Test

The issue for the PM is that he will be judged well ahead of then – in a mega set of elections in May across the UK. He attempted to contend, maybe too much, that they are about who runs local authorities, and who runs the devolved administrations in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not a verdict on Westminster.

Accurate – in part. But even though he may be reluctant to admit it, No 10 will be held accountable by those elections too.

This did not stop Sir Keir implying that there were no circumstances under which he would walk away, even if a his colleagues challenged him for the job, should those elections be very poor for Labour.

An Optimistic Outlook

He sought to explain his low poll ratings by saying the voters was understandably eager for things to improve. He aimed to persuade the interviewer, and the nation, that the coming months would be different.

The economy would recover in the face of rising unemployment, he said, when plans the government enacted during their initial rocky year began to bear fruit.

• He vowed to shut asylum hotels ahead of the current target date of 2029, but he did not put a specific date on that.
• He said too, with the qualification that it was not a done deal, that a peace deal in Ukraine felt a greater possibility now than at any time since Russia's major invasion.
• He disclosed for the first time that Western allies were now considering how to coordinate US and European forces to ensure security for Ukraine – to safeguard a possible peace.

His central argument 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 while – calmer, maybe, with more time to talk.

But despite facing calls from various quarters for a bolder approach, with much more political direction, more vigour, more speed and more urgency, his arguments were familiar ones.

Given that he is in such significant political difficulty, is a different approach required a different script?

No government, and certainly not one that has been unpopular for many months, has everything its as desired.

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

Controversies and Dangers

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

Sir Keir blamed "the process" for failing to identify what the activist had said before – a more diplomatic way of saying not my fault.

And he is inviting evident political perils as the year progresses. His alliance with the US president acquires a new jeopardy after Trump's military action on Venezuela.

Having interviewed Sir Keir Starmer, a former human rights lawyer who was against the war in Iraq, over a long period, the thought he would be comfortable with these events seems unlikely.

International Law and Brexit

He told me he was a "lifelong advocate of international law" but we "simply lack the complete details at the moment".

Opponents demanded criticise the action before we spoke. And the government is expected to face more pressure to give an clear view in Parliament in the near future.

And there has always been simmering tension in the Labour ranks to reverse or renegotiate some of the results of Brexit.

Sir Keir disputes he's heading in that direction, but his new specific commitment to integrate further with the EU's single market – the giant economic European trading zone – will likely elicit howls that he is reneging on his promise never to try to overturn the choices that stemmed from Brexit.

A move to cosy up to more of the single market will delight a faction on his backbenches, but it is easy fodder for Reform and the Conservatives to