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"I will remain in the same seat by 2027," Sir Keir Starmer remarked, adding that if the conversation proceeded smoothly, he might invite the interviewer into his official residence for another chat in the coming year.

There is never any downtime for prime ministers. Shortly before we sat down, Starmer had been speaking with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and attempting to decipher what on earth had occurred in Venezuela, where his key ally, US President Donald Trump, had recently attacked and captured its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

By the time our lengthy talk, which was much longer than normal, had ended, Maduro had been indicted in New York.

A Reboot for the New Year

With the year starts, the Prime Minister appears to have had a kind of a reboot. Maybe even just a bit of relaxation with the family at Chequers, the prime minister's official country residence.

That certainly appeared to have left him in improved morale than at the difficult end of 2025, a awful political year for him.

But are he and his allies being unrealistic if they reckon his fortunes are poised to turn around?

Internal Doubts

The grisly reality for the leader is that a significant number of his colleagues think he's underperforming at his job. Several of them would sooner gamble and remove him this year.

However Starmer was dismissing such talk in the interview on Saturday morning.

On several occasions he told me he'd be "judged at the general election", insisting nobody would take his five-year mandate from him – despite the fact that the best chance of preventing Nigel Farage and Reform UK entering No 10 may be for Labour to switch leader.

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

The Spring Test

The challenge for the PM is that he will be scrutinised long before then – in a major set of elections in May throughout the UK. He attempted to protest, perhaps excessively, that they are concerning who runs councils, and who runs the governments in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not a verdict on Westminster.

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

Despite this, Sir Keir stating that there were no circumstances under which he would resign, should a his colleagues contested his leadership for the job, if those elections be catastrophic for Labour.

An Optimistic Outlook

He tried to rationalise his low poll ratings by saying the public was naturally eager for things to change. He tried to persuade me, and the public, that the coming months would be distinct.

The economy would recover notwithstanding rising unemployment, he said, when plans the government enacted during their initial turbulent year began to take effect.

• He vowed to empty asylum hotels before the current deadline of 2029, although he did not put a new date on that.
• He said too, with the caveat that it wasn't a foregone conclusion, that a peace agreement in Ukraine felt a greater possibility now than at any point since Russia's major invasion.
• He stated for the first occasion that Western allies were now discussing how to integrate US and European forces to offer security for Ukraine – to guard a possible peace.

His central argument is that soon the country will "turn the corner".

A Consistent Script

The prime minister may have spoken with more energy than I've seen from him for a while – more relaxed, maybe, with more time to talk.

However, in spite of facing pressure from various quarters for a more decisive approach, with greater political vision, more dynamism, more pace and more immediacy, his arguments were repeated ones.

When he finds himself in such significant political trouble, should he consider a different script?

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

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

Regrets and Risks

The PM admitted that he was sorry for saying he was "pleased" to welcome back the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK after an controversy when comments he'd previously made – including calls for Zionists and police to be killed – resurfaced.

Starmer attributed it to "the system" for not catching what the activist had said before – a more diplomatic way of saying it wasn't his responsibility.

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

Based on years of interviewing Sir Keir Starmer, a ex- human rights lawyer who opposed the war in Iraq, over many years, the idea he would be content with such action seems unlikely.

Policy Stances and Pressures

He stated he was a "lifelong proponent of international law" but the public "simply lack the entire story at the moment".

Critics demanded 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 long been growing pressure in the Labour ranks to revisit some of the outcomes of Brexit.

The PM denies he's heading in that direction, but his new more concrete plan to integrate further with the European trading bloc – the huge economic European market – will likely provoke protests that he is reneging on his pledge never to try to reverse the results that stemmed from Brexit.

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