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"I'll be sitting in the same position by 2027," the Prime Minister remarked, adding that if the interview was successful, he might welcome the interviewer into Number 10 for a follow-up chat in 2026.

There is never any downtime for leaders. In the hour before the interview began, Starmer had been on the phone with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and trying to understand precisely had occurred in Venezuela, where his key friend, US President Donald Trump, had recently launched a strike against and detained its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

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

Renewed Energy for the New Year

But as the year commences, Starmer seems to have had a degree of a refresh. Perhaps even just a little a rest with his family at Chequers, the prime minister's official country residence.

This appeared to have put him in better spirits than at the difficult conclusion of 2025, a dreadful political year for him.

Yet, are he and his supporters kidding themselves if they think his political fate are set to get better?

Internal Doubts

The harsh truth for the prime minister is that numerous of his party members believe he's not very good at his job. Several of them would rather take a risk and remove him sooner rather than later.

However Sir Keir was dismissing such talk when we spoke on Saturday morning.

Multiple times he told me he'd be "judged at the next election", insisting no one would take his five-year mandate from him – even if the optimal path of preventing Nigel Farage and Reform UK reaching No 10 might be for Labour to switch leader.

"This is the battle of our times and I plan to be at the forefront," he affirmed.

The May Elections

The problem for the prime minister is that he will be scrutinised far sooner than then – in a mega set of elections in May across the UK. He sought to argue, maybe too much, that they are concerning who runs councils, and who runs the governments in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not about Westminster.

Accurate – to some extent. But even though he may not want to concede it, No 10 will be evaluated by those elections too.

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

An Optimistic Outlook

He tried to rationalise his unpopularity by saying the electorate was reasonably eager for things to change. He aimed to persuade me, and the nation, that this year would be different.

The economy would improve despite rising unemployment, he claimed, when strategies the government put in place during their first rocky year began to take effect.

• He committed to shut asylum hotels before the current target date of 2029, although he did not set a specific date on that.
• He noted too, with the qualification that it was not a certainty, that a peace deal in Ukraine felt more likely now than at any point since Russia's comprehensive invasion.
• He stated for the first time that Western allies were now talking about how to integrate US and European forces to ensure security for Ukraine – to safeguard a potential peace.

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

Familiar Arguments

The PM may have communicated with renewed vitality than observed from him for a while – more relaxed, maybe, with more time to talk.

But despite facing demands from many directions for a bolder strategy, with much more political vision, more vigour, more pace and more urgency, his explanations were familiar ones.

When he finds himself in such significant political trouble, should he consider a new narrative?

No administration, and certainly not one that has been struggling in the polls for an extended period, has everything its own way.

The Prime Minister's challenges are not just because government is difficult, but because he and his team have made mistakes, including in the last few weeks.

Regrets and Risks

The PM expressed regret that he regretted saying he was "happy" to see the return of the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK after an outcry when past remarks he'd made in the past – including calls for Zionists and police to be killed – came to light.

Sir Keir attributed it to "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 facing clear political risks as the year unfolds. His close relationship with the US president entails a new risk after Trump's strikes on Venezuela.

Having interviewed Sir Keir Starmer, a ex- human rights lawyer who was against the war in Iraq, over his career, the idea he would be content with this kind of intervention seems implausible.

International Law and Brexit

He asserted he was a "career-long advocate of international law" but the public "just do not have the entire story at the moment".

Some called for him to denounce it before the interview. And the government is expected to face further scrutiny to give an definitive view in Parliament in the near future.

And there has always been bubbling pressure in the Labour party to revisit some of the outcomes of Brexit.

The PM denies he's heading in that direction, but his new specific plan to align more closely with the European trading bloc – the vast economic European trading zone – will likely elicit howls that he is going back on his vow never to try to reverse the results that followed Brexit.

A decision to integrate into 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