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"I will be positioned in the same seat by 2027," Sir Keir Starmer declared, adding that if our interview was successful, he might invite us into Downing Street for a follow-up conversation next year.

There is rarely ever downtime for those in the top job. Shortly before we sat down, Starmer had been speaking with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and attempting to understand exactly what had happened in Venezuela, where his key ally, US President Donald Trump, had recently launched a strike against and detained its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

When the discussion, which was far more extended than normal, had finished, Maduro had been formally accused in New York.

Renewed Energy for the New Year

With the year commences, the Prime Minister appears to have had a kind of a refresh. Maybe even just a bit of relaxation with his family at Chequers, the prime minister's country retreat.

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

Yet, are he and his allies deluding themselves if they think his fortunes are poised to get better?

Leadership Questions

The harsh reality for the leader is that numerous of his party members believe he's not very good at his job. Several of them would rather gamble and oust him this year.

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

Repeatedly he insisted he'd be "assessed at the general election", maintaining nobody would strip his five-year mandate from him – even if the most effective strategy of preventing Nigel Farage and Reform UK entering No 10 may be for Labour to replace leader.

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

The May Elections

The issue for the prime minister is that he will be assessed far sooner than then – in a huge set of elections in May across the UK. He attempted to argue, perhaps too much, that they are concerning who runs councils, and who runs the governments in Holyrood or Cardiff – and unrelated to Westminster.

True – to some extent. But even though he may be reluctant to concede it, No 10 will be evaluated by those elections too.

This did not stop Sir Keir implying that there were no situation under which he would step down, should a his MPs ran against him for the job, should those elections be disastrous for Labour.

An Optimistic Outlook

He attempted to explain his low poll ratings by saying the voters was understandably anxious for things to change. He aimed to convince the interviewer, and the public, that this year would be different.

The economy would improve despite rising unemployment, he said, when policies the administration put in place during their initial choppy year began to take effect.

• He pledged to shut asylum hotels before the current target date of 2029, but he did not set a firm date on that.
• He noted too, with the caveat that it wasn't a certainty, that a peace deal in Ukraine felt a greater possibility now than at any time since Russia's full-scale invasion.
• He stated for the first time that Western allies were now discussing how to combine US and European forces to offer security for Ukraine – to protect a potential peace.

His core argument is that soon the country will "see an improvement".

A Consistent Script

The prime minister may have spoken with renewed vitality than observed from him for a some time – less tense, maybe, with more time to talk.

However, in spite of facing calls from many directions for a more decisive strategy, with increased political direction, more dynamism, more pace and more immediacy, his arguments were repeated ones.

When he finds himself in such significant political difficulty, does he need a different script?

No government, and especially not one that has been unpopular for many months, gets everything its own way.

Sir Keir's challenges are not just because government is challenging, but because he and his team have faltered, even in the last few weeks.

Controversies and Dangers

The prime minister told me that he regretted saying he was "pleased" to see the return of the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK following an controversy when comments he'd previously made – such as calls for Zionists and police to be killed – surfaced.

Sir Keir blamed "the system" for not realising what the activist had said before – a fancier way of saying it wasn't his responsibility.

And he is facing evident political perils as the year gets going. His close relationship with the US president entails a new complication after Trump's military action on Venezuela.

Based on years of interviewing Sir Keir Starmer, a former human rights lawyer who opposed the war in Iraq, over a long period, the idea he would be at ease with such action seems far-fetched.

Policy Stances and Pressures

He stated he was a "career-long advocate of international law" but we "just haven't got the complete details at the moment".

Critics wanted him to denounce it before the interview. And the administration is expected to face more pressure to give an definitive view in Parliament in the coming days.

And there has long been growing desire in the Labour party to revisit some of the consequences of Brexit.

Sir Keir disputes he's doing that, but his new more concrete plan to move closer with the EU's single market – the vast economic European market – will probably provoke protests that he is going back on his vow never to try to overturn the results that flowed from Brexit.

A decision to align with 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