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"I'll be positioned in the same seat by 2027," the Prime Minister remarked, noting that if the discussion proceeded smoothly, he might invite us into his official residence for another conversation in the coming year.

For a PM, there's never any downtime for prime ministers. In the hour before we sat down, Starmer had been speaking with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and working to decipher what on earth had transpired in Venezuela, where his key political chum, US President Donald Trump, had just attacked and captured its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

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

A Refresh for the New Year

But as the year starts, Starmer seems to have had something of a revitalisation. Maybe even just some downtime with his family at Chequers, the prime minister's rural getaway.

That certainly appeared to have put him in improved morale than at the sluggish tail end of 2025, a dreadful political year for him.

But are he and his allies deluding themselves if they think his fortunes are set to improve?

Party Concerns

The harsh reality for the PM is that many of his colleagues are convinced he's ineffective at his job. Several of them would sooner take a risk and get him out in 2026.

However Starmer was dismissing such talk during our conversation on Saturday morning.

On several occasions he stated he'd be "judged at the poll", arguing no one would take his electoral mandate from him – despite the fact that the optimal path of preventing Nigel Farage and Reform UK entering No 10 may be for Labour to replace leader.

"We are in the battle of our times and I aim to be at the forefront," he said.

The May Elections

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

True – to some extent. But although he may be reluctant to acknowledge it, No 10 will be judged by those elections too.

This did not stop Sir Keir suggesting that there were no situation under which he would walk away, should a his colleagues ran against him for the job, if those elections prove very poor for Labour.

An Optimistic Outlook

He tried to account for his low poll ratings by saying the public was reasonably anxious for things to improve. He aimed to convince me, and the nation, that this year would be distinct.

The economic situation would recover notwithstanding rising unemployment, he argued, when plans the administration put in place during their initial turbulent year began to bear fruit.

• He vowed to empty asylum hotels before the current target date of 2029, although he did not put a specific date on that.
• He noted too, with the caveat that it wasn't a foregone conclusion, that a settlement in Ukraine felt closer now than at any time since Russia's comprehensive invasion.
• He revealed for the first occasion that Western allies were now considering how to integrate US and European forces to offer security for Ukraine – to protect a potential peace.

His central message is that this year the country will "see an improvement".

Familiar Arguments

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

But despite facing pressure from various quarters for a more decisive approach, with increased political clarity, more urgency, more pace and more urgency, his points were familiar ones.

When he finds himself in this much political peril, does he need a different script?

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

The Prime Minister's problems are not only because governing is difficult, but because he and his team have erred, even in the recent past.

Regrets and Risks

The prime minister admitted that he regretted saying he was "pleased" to see the return of the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK after an outcry when comments he'd previously made – such as calls for Zionists and police to be killed – surfaced.

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

And he is inviting obvious political risks as the year gets going. His friendship with the US president takes on 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 a long period, the notion he would be content with these events seems implausible.

International Law and Brexit

He asserted he was a "longtime proponent of international law" but the public "simply lack the complete details at the moment".

Opponents demanded condemn it before the interview. And the administration is expected to face more pressure to give an clear view in Parliament in the coming days.

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

Sir Keir disputes he's heading in that direction, but his new firmer commitment to align more closely with the EU's single market – the giant economic European market – will probably provoke accusations that he is breaking his promise never to try to reverse the decisions that stemmed from Brexit.

A commitment to integrate into more of the single market will please many on his side of the party, but it is simple material for Reform and the Conservatives to