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"I'll be sitting in this seat by 2027," the Prime Minister stated, adding that if the discussion was successful, he might invite us into Number 10 for a follow-up conversation in the coming year.

There is never truly downtime for those in the top job. Shortly before we sat down, Starmer had been on the phone with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and trying to work out precisely had occurred in Venezuela, where his big political chum, US President Donald Trump, had just targeted and seized its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

When the discussion, which was considerably lengthier than typical, had finished, Maduro had been indicted in New York.

A Refresh for the New Year

With the new year begins, Starmer appears to have had a degree of a refresh. Maybe even just a bit of relaxation with his family at Chequers, the prime minister's official country residence.

This seemed to have resulted in improved morale than at the sluggish conclusion of 2025, a awful annus horribilis for him.

But are he and his allies deluding themselves if they think his political fate are about to turn around?

Party Concerns

The harsh truth for the leader is that numerous of his colleagues think he's ineffective at his job. A faction of them would rather take a risk and remove him this year.

But Sir Keir was dismissing such talk during our conversation on Saturday morning.

Repeatedly he stated he'd be "judged at the general election", arguing no one would remove his electoral mandate from him – despite the fact that the best chance of preventing Nigel Farage and Reform UK getting to No 10 could be for Labour to change leader.

"We are in the struggle of our generation and I intend to lead us," he affirmed.

Upcoming Local Votes

The challenge for the prime minister is that he will be judged far sooner than then – in a huge set of elections in May across the UK. He sought to protest, perhaps too much, that they are concerning who runs local authorities, and who runs the governments in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not about Westminster.

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

Despite this, Sir Keir stating that there were no situation under which he would step down, even if one of his MPs contested his leadership for the job, should those elections be catastrophic for Labour.

Promises of Improvement

He tried to rationalise his unpopularity by saying the public was understandably anxious for things to get better. He sought to persuade the interviewer, and the public, that this year would be different.

The economic situation would strengthen notwithstanding rising unemployment, he said, when policies the government enacted during their initial choppy year began to take effect.

• He vowed to close asylum hotels before the current deadline of 2029, although he wouldn't put a new date on that.
• He added too, with the proviso that it was not a foregone conclusion, that a settlement in Ukraine felt closer now than at any point since Russia's full-scale invasion.
• He disclosed for the first time that Western allies were now discussing how to integrate US and European forces to ensure security for Ukraine – to safeguard a possible peace.

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

A Consistent Script

The prime minister may have communicated with greater vigour than observed from him for a some time – less tense, perhaps, with more time to talk.

But despite facing calls from various quarters for a more decisive approach, with greater political direction, more dynamism, more pace and more immediacy, his explanations were repeated ones.

Given that he is in such significant political peril, does he need a different script?

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

Sir Keir's problems are not only because governing is difficult, but because he and his team have faltered, even in the recent past.

Regrets and Risks

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

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

And he is inviting obvious political dangers as the year progresses. His friendship with the US president takes on a new jeopardy after Trump's intervention on Venezuela.

Based on years of interviewing Sir Keir Starmer, a ex- human rights lawyer who was against the war in Iraq, over many years, the notion he would be at ease with these events seems far-fetched.

International Law and Brexit

He told me he was a "lifelong proponent of international law" but we "simply lack the entire story at the moment".

Some wanted him to condemn it prior to we spoke. And the government is expected to face further scrutiny to give an clear view in Parliament in the coming days.

There has also consistently been bubbling pressure in the Labour ranks to revisit some of the consequences of Brexit.

The PM disputes he's heading in that direction, but his new firmer pledge to align more closely with the EU's single market – the giant economic European trading zone – will likely provoke accusations that he is reneging on his vow never to try to reverse the decisions that flowed from Brexit.

A decision to cosy up to more of the single market will delight many on his side of the party, but it is simple material for Reform and the Conservatives to