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"I will be sitting in the same seat by 2027," Starmer remarked, noting that if our discussion was successful, he might invite us into Number 10 for another talk in the coming year.

There is never any time off for leaders. In the hour before our chat started, Sir Keir had been speaking with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and attempting to work out precisely had happened in Venezuela, where his close ally, US President Donald Trump, had recently launched a strike against and detained its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

Once our lengthy talk, which was much longer than normal, had concluded, Maduro had been formally accused in New York.

Renewed Energy for the New Year

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

That certainly appeared to have put him in better spirits 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 political fate are poised to turn around?

Leadership Questions

The grisly truth for the leader is that many of his colleagues believe he's underperforming at his job. Several of them would sooner gamble and oust him this year.

However Starmer was rejecting the idea in the interview on Saturday morning.

Multiple times he stated he'd be "evaluated at the poll", maintaining nobody would remove his electoral mandate from him – even if the optimal path of stopping Nigel Farage and Reform UK getting to No 10 might be for Labour to switch leader.

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

Upcoming Local Votes

The problem for the PM is that he will be assessed long before then – in a major set of elections in May across the UK. He attempted to argue, perhaps excessively, that they are about who runs local authorities, and who runs the devolved administrations in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not a verdict on Westminster.

Accurate – in part. But even though he may not want to admit it, No 10 will be judged by those elections too.

This did not stop Sir Keir stating that there were no scenario under which he would step down, even if one of his colleagues ran against him for the job, if those elections be disastrous for Labour.

Promises of Improvement

He sought to explain his low poll ratings by saying the electorate was understandably eager for things to improve. He tried to persuade me, and the nation, that this year would be distinct.

The economy would recover in the face of rising unemployment, he said, when plans the government enacted during their initial turbulent year began to show results.

• He vowed to shut asylum hotels ahead of the current target date of 2029, although he wouldn't put a new date on that.
• He said too, with the caveat that it was not a done deal, that a settlement in Ukraine felt more likely now than at any time since Russia's major invasion.
• He revealed for the first time that Western partners were now discussing how to coordinate US and European forces to provide security for Ukraine – to safeguard a potential peace.

His big argument is that in 2026 the country will "turn the corner".

Political Challenges

The prime minister may have spoken with more energy than observed from him for a some time – less tense, perhaps, with a longer slot to talk.

However, in spite of facing calls from various quarters for a more decisive strategy, with much more political clarity, more vigour, more pace and more urgency, his arguments were familiar ones.

When he finds himself in this much political peril, should he consider a different script?

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

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

Controversies and Dangers

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 after an backlash when comments he'd made in the past – including calls for Zionists and police to be killed – came to light.

Sir Keir blamed "the process" for not catching what the activist had said before – a more diplomatic way of saying not my fault.

And he is facing obvious political dangers as the year gets going. His friendship with the US president acquires a new jeopardy after Trump's military action on Venezuela.

Having interviewed Sir Keir Starmer, a former human rights lawyer who was against the war in Iraq, over a long period, the thought he would be content with such action seems unlikely.

Policy Stances and Pressures

He stated he was a "longtime champion of international law" but we "simply lack the complete details at the moment".

Opponents wanted him to criticise the action before we spoke. And the administration is likely to face further scrutiny 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 denies he's pursuing that, but his new more concrete commitment to align more closely with the EU's single market – the huge economic European market – will likely elicit howls that he is reneging on his promise never to try to undo the decisions that followed Brexit.

A move to align with more of the single market will delight some on his own side, but it is prime ammunition for Reform and the Conservatives to