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"I'll be positioned in the same office by 2027," the Prime Minister stated, adding that if the interview proceeded smoothly, he might invite the interviewer into Number 10 for a follow-up talk in the coming year.

There is never truly downtime for those in the top job. Shortly before we sat down, the PM had been in calls with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and working to work out what on earth had happened in Venezuela, where his big political chum, 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 usual, had ended, Maduro had been indicted in New York.

A Refresh for the New Year

But as the year starts, Starmer appears to have had a degree of a reboot. Perhaps even just a bit of relaxation with his family at Chequers, the prime minister's official country residence.

That certainly appeared to have left him in better spirits than at the saggy conclusion of 2025, a awful political year for him.

But are he and his supporters deluding themselves if they reckon his fortunes are poised to improve?

Internal Doubts

The harsh reality for the leader is that numerous of his colleagues think he's not very good at his job. Several of them would rather take a risk and remove him this year.

However Starmer was having none of it during our conversation on Saturday morning.

Repeatedly he insisted he'd be "assessed at the next election", arguing nobody would strip his term from him – even if the optimal path of stopping Nigel Farage and Reform UK entering No 10 could be for Labour to switch its leader.

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

The May Elections

The issue for the prime minister is that he will be assessed long before then – in a major set of elections in May throughout 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 a verdict on Westminster.

True – up to a point. But even though he may not want to concede it, No 10 will be held accountable by those elections too.

Despite this, Sir Keir implying that there were no circumstances under which he would resign, should one of his colleagues contested his leadership for the job, should those elections be disastrous for Labour.

Predicting a Turnaround

He sought to rationalise his low poll ratings by saying the voters was understandably impatient for things to get better. He aimed to persuade me, and the public, that this year would be distinct.

The economic situation would strengthen in the face of rising unemployment, he argued, when strategies the administration enacted during their initial turbulent year began to bear fruit.

• He committed to shut asylum hotels ahead of the current target date of 2029, although he did not set a firm date on that.
• He noted too, with the proviso that it wasn't a certainty, that a settlement in Ukraine felt closer now than at any point since Russia's major invasion.
• He revealed for the first occasion that Western partners were now discussing how to combine US and European forces to provide security for Ukraine – to guard a potential peace.

His core message is that this year the country will "reach a turning point".

Familiar Arguments

The PM may have spoken with greater vigour than observed from him for a some time – less tense, perhaps, with a longer slot to talk.

However, in spite of encountering pressure from various quarters for a more decisive approach, with greater political clarity, more dynamism, more speed and more urgency, his arguments were familiar ones.

Given that he is in considerable political trouble, does he need a change of tack?

No administration, and certainly not one that has been unpopular for an extended period, has everything its as planned.

The Prime Minister's challenges are not just because governing is challenging, but because he and his team have made mistakes, even in the recent past.

Controversies and Dangers

The prime minister told me that he was sorry for saying he was "delighted" to welcome back the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK following an controversy when comments he'd previously made – including calls for Zionists and police to be killed – surfaced.

Sir Keir attributed it to "the system" for failing to identify what the activist had said before – a fancier way of saying not my fault.

And he is facing obvious political perils as the year unfolds. His alliance 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 opposed the war in Iraq, over many years, the thought he would be at ease with this kind of intervention seems unlikely.

Policy Stances and Pressures

He told me he was a "career-long advocate of international law" but we "just lack the full picture at the moment".

Critics demanded denounce it prior to the interview. And the administration is expected to face further scrutiny to give an clear view in Parliament in the near future.

There has also always been growing desire in the Labour ranks to undo or remake some of the results of Brexit.

The PM rejects he's heading in that direction, but his new firmer commitment to move closer with the EU's single market – the huge economic European trading zone – will likely provoke howls that he is breaking his vow never to try to overturn the choices that followed Brexit.

A decision to align with more of the single market will please many on his own side, but it is simple material for Reform and the Conservatives to