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"I will remain in this position by 2027," Starmer stated, adding that if the interview was successful, he might welcome us into his official residence for another chat next year.

For a PM, there's rarely ever time off for prime ministers. Shortly before we sat down, Starmer had been on the phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and trying to understand precisely had transpired in Venezuela, where his key friend, US President Donald Trump, had just attacked and captured its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

By the time our interview, which was much longer than usual, had concluded, Maduro had been charged in New York.

A Reboot for the New Year

As the year commences, Starmer appears to have had a degree of a reboot. Maybe even just a little a rest with the family at Chequers, the prime minister's country retreat.

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

But are he and his supporters kidding themselves if they believe his political fate are set to get better?

Leadership Questions

The harsh reality for the PM is that many of his fellow MPs are convinced he's underperforming at his job. A faction of them would rather take a risk and oust him in 2026.

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

Repeatedly he stated he'd be "judged at the general election", arguing nobody would remove his electoral mandate from him – despite the fact that the most effective strategy of preventing Nigel Farage and Reform UK getting to No 10 may be for Labour to replace its leader.

"This is the fight of our times and I aim to lead us," he declared.

The May Elections

The issue for the PM is that he will be assessed well ahead of then – in a mega set of elections in May across the UK. He sought to contend, perhaps excessively, that they are about who runs local authorities, and who runs the governments in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not about Westminster.

True – in part. But although he may be reluctant to acknowledge it, No 10 will be held accountable by those elections too.

This did not stop Sir Keir stating that there were no circumstances under which he would resign, should one of his MPs contested his leadership for the job, if those elections prove very poor for Labour.

An Optimistic Outlook

He tried to rationalise his unpopularity by saying the public was naturally impatient for things to get better. He tried to convince the interviewer, and the nation, that 2026 would be different.

The economy would improve despite rising unemployment, he said, when policies the administration enacted during their initial turbulent year began to take effect.

• He vowed to empty asylum hotels before the current target date of 2029, but he did not put a firm date on that.
• He noted too, with the qualification that it was not a done deal, that a settlement in Ukraine felt a greater possibility now than at any point since Russia's full-scale invasion.
• He revealed for the first time that Western partners were now discussing how to coordinate US and European forces to ensure security for Ukraine – to protect a possible peace.

His core argument is that soon the country will "turn the corner".

Political Challenges

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

But despite encountering pressure from within his own party for a bolder strategy, with increased political clarity, more vigour, more pace and more urgency, his explanations were repeated ones.

When he finds himself 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, has everything its own way.

The Prime Minister's problems are not just because governing is hard, but because he and his team have erred, including in the last few weeks.

Controversies and Dangers

The prime minister expressed regret that he was sorry for 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 made in the past – such as calls for Zionists and police to be killed – resurfaced.

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

And he is facing clear political dangers as the year unfolds. His close relationship with the US president acquires a new risk after Trump's military action on Venezuela.

Based on years of interviewing Sir Keir Starmer, a former human rights lawyer who was against the war in Iraq, over many years, the idea he would be comfortable with such action seems far-fetched.

International Law and Brexit

He told me he was a "longtime champion of international law" but we "just haven't got the entire story at the moment".

Opponents demanded criticise the action before we spoke. And the government is expected to face increased demands to give an definitive view in Parliament in the coming days.

And there has always been bubbling desire in the Labour party to reverse or renegotiate some of the consequences of Brexit.

Sir Keir disputes he's pursuing that, but his new firmer pledge to integrate further with the European trading bloc – the huge economic European market – will probably provoke howls that he is going back on his vow never to try to overturn the results that stemmed from Brexit.

A decision to align with more of the single market will please a faction on his own side, but it is easy fodder for Reform and the Conservatives to