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"I'll be positioned in the same position by 2027," the Prime Minister stated, noting that if our discussion proceeded smoothly, he might invite us into Downing Street for another conversation in 2026.

There is never truly downtime for prime ministers. Shortly before we sat down, Starmer had been in calls with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and trying to understand exactly what had transpired in Venezuela, where his close ally, US President Donald Trump, had recently launched a strike against and detained its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

When our interview, which was considerably lengthier than typical, had concluded, Maduro had been formally accused in New York.

A Refresh for the New Year

As the year commences, the Prime Minister seems to have had something of a refresh. Perhaps even just some a rest with the family at Chequers, the prime minister's rural getaway.

That certainly seemed to have resulted in better spirits than at the saggy conclusion of 2025, a terrible year politically for him.

But are he and his supporters kidding themselves if they believe his political fate are about to turn around?

Leadership Questions

The uncomfortable truth for the prime minister is that a significant number of his colleagues think he's ineffective at his job. Several of them would rather take a risk and remove him sooner rather than later.

However Starmer was dismissing such talk when we spoke on Saturday morning.

Repeatedly he told me he'd be "judged at the general election", arguing no one would remove his electoral mandate from him – even if the best chance of preventing Nigel Farage and Reform UK getting to No 10 may be for Labour to switch leader.

"We are in the struggle of our generation and I aim to guide the party," he declared.

Upcoming Local Votes

The issue for the prime minister is that he will be assessed well ahead of then – in a huge set of elections in May throughout the UK. He attempted to protest, perhaps excessively, that they are concerning who runs local authorities, and who runs the governments in Holyrood or Cardiff – and unrelated to Westminster.

Accurate – in part. But although 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 walk away, should a his colleagues ran against him for the job, should those elections prove very poor for Labour.

Promises of Improvement

He tried to explain his low poll ratings by saying the public was reasonably impatient for things to change. He sought to persuade me, and the nation, that the coming months would be distinct.

The economy would strengthen notwithstanding rising unemployment, he claimed, when strategies the government put in place during their first turbulent year began to take effect.

• He pledged to close asylum hotels before the current target date of 2029, although he wouldn't put a firm date on that.
• He said too, with the proviso that it was not a done deal, that a peace deal in Ukraine felt more likely now than at any time since Russia's comprehensive invasion.
• He disclosed for the first occasion that Western allies were now considering how to coordinate US and European forces to provide security for Ukraine – to protect a possible peace.

His big point is that this year the country will "see an improvement".

Familiar Arguments

The prime minister may have spoken with greater vigour than observed from him for a while – calmer, perhaps, with a longer slot to talk.

But despite encountering pressure from various quarters for a bolder strategy, with much more political direction, more vigour, more pace and more immediacy, his points were well-known ones.

When he finds himself in considerable political peril, does he need a change of tack?

No administration, and certainly not one that has been unpopular for many months, has everything its as desired.

Sir Keir's challenges are not only because government is hard, but because he and his colleagues have faltered, including in the last few weeks.

Regrets and Risks

The PM told me that he regretted saying he was "pleased" to welcome back the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK after an outcry when comments he'd made in the past – such as calls for Zionists and police to be killed – surfaced.

Sir Keir blamed "procedures" for failing to identify 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 progresses. His close relationship with the US president acquires a new jeopardy after Trump's strikes 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 thought he would be comfortable with these events seems implausible.

Policy Stances and Pressures

He stated he was a "lifelong champion of international law" but we "just do not have the full picture at the moment".

Opponents wanted him to criticise the action before the interview. And the administration is likely to face increased demands to give an definitive view in Parliament in the next few days.

And there has always been simmering pressure in the Labour party to undo or remake some of the consequences of Brexit.

The PM disputes he's pursuing that, but his new firmer plan to integrate further with the single market – the giant economic European trading zone – will probably elicit howls that he is going back on his promise never to try to reverse the decisions that flowed from Brexit.

A commitment to cosy up to more of the single market will satisfy many on his backbenches, but it is simple material for Reform and the Conservatives to