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"I'll be positioned in the same office by 2027," Starmer stated, joking that if our conversation went well, he might invite the interviewer into his official residence for another talk in 2026.

For a PM, there's never truly break for leaders. In the hour before we sat down, the PM had been speaking with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and working to understand what on earth had transpired in Venezuela, where his big ally, US President Donald Trump, had just launched a strike against and detained its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

Once the discussion, which was considerably lengthier than typical, had ended, Maduro had been formally accused in New York.

A Refresh for the New Year

As the year starts, the Prime Minister seems to have had a kind of a revitalisation. Perhaps even just a little a rest with loved ones at Chequers, the prime minister's country retreat.

This appeared to have put him in improved morale than at the saggy conclusion of 2025, a terrible year politically for him.

But are he and his colleagues being unrealistic if they think his fortunes are about to turn around?

Internal Doubts

The harsh truth for the PM is that a significant number of his colleagues are convinced he's ineffective at his job. Some of them would sooner gamble and remove him sooner rather than later.

However Starmer was having none of it when we spoke on Saturday morning.

Repeatedly he told me he'd be "evaluated at the next election", insisting nobody would remove his term from him – even if the best chance of halting Nigel Farage and Reform UK getting to No 10 could be for Labour to switch its leader.

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

Upcoming Local Votes

The challenge for the prime minister is that he will be judged far sooner than then – in a major set of elections in May throughout the UK. He sought to argue, maybe excessively, that they are about who runs councils, and who runs the devolved administrations in Holyrood or Cardiff – and unrelated to Westminster.

True – in part. 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 stating that there were no scenario under which he would step down, should one of his MPs challenged him for the job, if those elections prove very poor for Labour.

An Optimistic Outlook

He sought to explain his unpopularity by saying the voters was naturally anxious for things to change. He aimed to assure the interviewer, and the public, that this year would be distinct.

The economic situation would recover despite rising unemployment, he said, when plans the administration put in place during their first turbulent year began to take effect.

• He vowed to shut asylum hotels ahead of the current deadline of 2029, but he wouldn't set a new date on that.
• He said too, with the caveat that it wasn't a done deal, that a peace deal in Ukraine felt a greater possibility now than at any time since Russia's major invasion.
• He stated for the first time that Western allies were now considering how to combine US and European forces to provide security for Ukraine – to protect a possible peace.

His big point is that soon the country will "reach a turning point".

A Consistent Script

The PM may have spoken with more energy than I've seen from him for a some time – calmer, perhaps, with more time to talk.

But despite encountering demands from various quarters for a more decisive strategy, with greater political direction, more dynamism, more speed and more immediacy, his points were familiar ones.

Given that he is in considerable political trouble, is a different approach required a different script?

No government, and especially not one that has been struggling in the polls for an extended period, has everything its as desired.

The Prime Minister's challenges are not just because government is difficult, but because he and his colleagues have faltered, including in the recent past.

Regrets and Risks

The PM admitted that he was sorry for saying he was "pleased" to see the return of the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK following an controversy when statements he'd made in the past – including calls for Zionists and police to be killed – resurfaced.

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

And he is courting obvious political dangers as the year unfolds. His close relationship with the US president takes on a new complication 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 far-fetched.

International Law and Brexit

He stated he was a "career-long advocate of international law" but the public "simply do not have the full picture at the moment".

Opponents wanted him to denounce it prior to the interview. And the administration is likely to face further scrutiny to give an clear view in Parliament in the near future.

And there has consistently been growing pressure in the Labour ranks to undo or remake some of the results of Brexit.

Sir Keir disputes he's heading in that direction, but his new specific commitment to move closer with the single market – the huge economic European trading zone – will likely trigger howls that he is breaking his vow never to try to reverse the decisions that flowed from Brexit.

A decision to integrate into more of the single market will delight some on his own side, but it is easy fodder for Reform and the Conservatives to