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"I'll remain in this seat by 2027," the Prime Minister stated, adding that if the interview was successful, he might welcome the interviewer into Number 10 for a follow-up conversation in 2026.

For a PM, there's rarely ever break for prime ministers. In the hour before our chat started, Starmer had been on the phone with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and working to work out precisely had transpired in Venezuela, where his key political chum, US President Donald Trump, had just attacked and captured its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

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

A Refresh for the New Year

With the year starts, the Prime Minister seems to have had a kind of a revitalisation. Maybe even just a little downtime with the family at Chequers, the prime minister's official country residence.

That certainly appeared to have left him in a more positive mood than at the difficult tail end of 2025, a dreadful political year for him.

But are he and his supporters being unrealistic if they believe his fortunes are about to turn around?

Leadership Questions

The uncomfortable reality for the leader is that many of his party members believe he's not very good at his job. Several of them would rather gamble and get him out sooner rather than later.

But Sir Keir was dismissing such talk when we spoke on Saturday morning.

On several occasions he insisted he'd be "assessed at the next election", arguing no one would strip his five-year mandate from him – even if the best chance of halting Nigel Farage and Reform UK getting to No 10 could be for Labour to change its leader.

"This is the fight of our generation and I intend to lead us," he affirmed.

The Spring Test

The problem for the PM is that he will be judged far sooner than then – in a major set of elections in May across the UK. He tried to argue, perhaps excessively, that they are about who runs local authorities, and who runs the governments in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not about Westminster.

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

This did not stop Sir Keir implying that there were no scenario under which he would step down, should a his MPs contested his leadership for the job, if those elections be catastrophic for Labour.

An Optimistic Outlook

He sought to rationalise his low poll ratings by saying the voters was naturally anxious for things to improve. He tried to persuade the interviewer, and the nation, that this year would be a change.

The economy would strengthen despite rising unemployment, he argued, when plans the government enacted during their initial turbulent year began to bear fruit.

• He vowed to close asylum hotels ahead of the current target date of 2029, although he wouldn't set a firm date on that.
• He said too, with the qualification that it wasn't a certainty, that a peace deal in Ukraine felt closer now than at any time since Russia's comprehensive invasion.
• He stated for the first time that Western allies were now considering how to integrate US and European forces to provide security for Ukraine – to safeguard a possible peace.

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

Familiar Arguments

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

But despite facing calls from within his own party for a bolder strategy, with greater political vision, more vigour, more speed and more urgency, his points were repeated ones.

Given that he is in this much political peril, should he consider a change of tack?

No government, and especially not one that has been unpopular for an extended period, has everything its as desired.

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

Controversies and Dangers

The prime minister admitted that he was sorry for saying he was "happy" to see the return of the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK following an backlash when past remarks he'd made in the past – such as calls for Zionists and police to be killed – resurfaced.

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

And he is inviting evident political risks as the year progresses. His close relationship with the US president takes on a new complication after Trump's military action on Venezuela.

Having interviewed Sir Keir Starmer, a ex- human rights lawyer who opposed the war in Iraq, over a long period, the thought he would be content with this kind of intervention seems far-fetched.

International Law and Brexit

He told me he was a "career-long proponent of international law" but we "just lack the entire story at the moment".

Some demanded criticise the action before the interview. And the government is likely to face increased demands to give an clear view in Parliament in the near future.

There has also long been bubbling desire in the Labour party to undo or remake some of the consequences of Brexit.

Sir Keir disputes he's doing that, but his new specific commitment to align more closely with the European trading bloc – the vast economic European trading zone – will probably trigger howls that he is breaking his promise never to try to overturn the decisions that stemmed from Brexit.

A move to integrate into more of the single market will delight a faction on his own side, but it is prime ammunition for Reform and the Conservatives to