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"I'll be positioned in this seat by 2027," the Prime Minister stated, noting that if the discussion went well, he might invite us into his official residence for another conversation next year.

There is never truly break for prime ministers. Just an hour before the interview began, the PM had been in calls with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and trying to decipher exactly what had happened in Venezuela, where his big friend, US President Donald Trump, had just attacked and captured its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

Once our lengthy talk, which was far more extended than usual, had concluded, Maduro had been indicted in New York.

Renewed Energy for the New Year

With the year commences, Starmer appears to have had a degree of a refresh. Maybe even just a bit of relaxation with his family at Chequers, the prime minister's rural getaway.

This seemed to have put him in better spirits than at the saggy end of 2025, a dreadful year politically for him.

Yet, are he and his supporters deluding themselves if they believe his political fate are set to improve?

Internal Doubts

The uncomfortable reality for the leader is that numerous of his colleagues are convinced he's ineffective at his job. Several of them would rather gamble and remove him sooner rather than later.

But Sir Keir was dismissing such talk in the interview on Saturday morning.

On several occasions he stated he'd be "assessed at the poll", insisting nobody would take his five-year mandate from him – despite the fact that the best chance 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 be at the forefront," he affirmed.

The May Elections

The issue for the PM is that he will be scrutinised long before then – in a mega set of elections in May across the UK. He sought to protest, maybe excessively, that they are concerning 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 not want to admit it, No 10 will be evaluated by those elections too.

Despite this, Sir Keir stating that there were no situation under which he would resign, should one of his MPs contested his leadership for the job, if those elections prove catastrophic for Labour.

Predicting a Turnaround

He tried to rationalise his low poll ratings by saying the electorate was naturally impatient for things to improve. He aimed to assure the interviewer, and the public, that 2026 would be a change.

The economy would improve in the face of rising unemployment, he claimed, when policies the government implemented during their first rocky year began to show results.

• He committed to shut asylum hotels before the current target date of 2029, but he wouldn't set a new date on that.
• He noted too, with the qualification that it was not a foregone conclusion, that a peace agreement in Ukraine felt more likely now than at any point since Russia's full-scale invasion.
• He disclosed for the first time that Western partners were now talking about how to coordinate US and European forces to ensure security for Ukraine – to protect a potential peace.

His big argument is that this year the country will "turn the corner".

Familiar Arguments

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

However, in spite of facing pressure from various quarters for a more decisive approach, with increased political clarity, more dynamism, more pace and more immediacy, his arguments were repeated ones.

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

No administration, and especially not one that has been unpopular for an extended period, gets everything its as desired.

The Prime Minister's challenges are not only because governing is challenging, but because he and his colleagues have erred, including in the recent past.

Regrets and Risks

The PM told me 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 backlash when statements he'd previously made – 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 fancier way of saying not my fault.

And he is courting clear political dangers as the year unfolds. His friendship with the US president takes on a new jeopardy after Trump's intervention 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 thought he would be at ease with such action seems implausible.

Policy Stances and Pressures

He told me he was a "lifelong proponent of international law" but we "just lack the full picture at the moment".

Critics called for him to criticise the action before we spoke. And the administration is likely to face further scrutiny to give an explicit view in Parliament in the near future.

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

Sir Keir denies he's heading in that direction, but his new firmer commitment to move closer with the single market – the giant economic European trading zone – will probably trigger protests that he is breaking his vow never to try to undo the choices 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 prime ammunition for Reform and the Conservatives to