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"I will be sitting in the same position by 2027," Starmer remarked, joking that if the interview went well, he might welcome us into Downing Street for a follow-up conversation next year.

For a PM, there's never any downtime for prime ministers. In the hour before the interview began, the PM had been on the phone with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and trying to work out what on earth had happened in Venezuela, where his big ally, US President Donald Trump, had recently attacked and captured its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

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

Renewed Energy for the New Year

With the year starts, Sir Keir appears to have had something of a revitalisation. Perhaps even just some relaxation with loved ones at Chequers, the prime minister's rural getaway.

This seemed to have put him in better spirits than at the saggy tail end of 2025, a awful political year for him.

Yet, are he and his allies kidding themselves if they believe his fortunes are set to improve?

Leadership Questions

The harsh reality for the PM is that many of his party members believe he's not very good at his job. Some of them would sooner take a risk and remove him in 2026.

But Sir Keir was rejecting the idea in the interview on Saturday morning.

On several occasions he stated he'd be "assessed at the next election", maintaining no one would take his term from him – despite the fact that the best chance of halting Nigel Farage and Reform UK getting to No 10 might be for Labour to change its leader.

"This is the battle of our generation and I intend to be at the forefront," he said.

The May Elections

The challenge for the prime minister is that he will be scrutinised long before then – in a huge set of elections in May throughout the UK. He sought to contend, perhaps too much, 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 although he may not want to admit it, No 10 will be held accountable by those elections too.

Despite this, Sir Keir stating that there were no circumstances under which he would resign, even if one of his colleagues ran against him for the job, if those elections be very poor for Labour.

Promises of Improvement

He sought to account for his unpopularity by saying the electorate was naturally anxious for things to get better. He tried to persuade me, and the nation, that 2026 would be a change.

The economy would recover notwithstanding rising unemployment, he argued, when plans the administration implemented during their initial rocky year began to bear fruit.

• He committed to empty asylum hotels ahead of the current deadline of 2029, but he did not set a firm date on that.
• He noted too, with the caveat that it was not a certainty, that a settlement in Ukraine felt a greater possibility now than at any time since Russia's major invasion.
• He disclosed for the first time that Western partners were now discussing how to combine US and European forces to ensure security for Ukraine – to safeguard a potential peace.

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

Familiar Arguments

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

However, in spite of facing pressure from within his own party for a more decisive approach, with much more political clarity, more dynamism, more pace and more immediacy, his explanations were repeated ones.

When he finds himself in considerable political trouble, is a different approach required a change of tack?

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

The Prime Minister's challenges are not only because governing is hard, but because he and his colleagues have erred, even in the last few weeks.

Controversies and Dangers

The PM admitted 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 – came to light.

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 courting clear political risks as the year gets going. His close relationship with the US president takes on a new risk after Trump's military action on Venezuela.

Having interviewed Sir Keir Starmer, a former human rights lawyer who opposed the war in Iraq, over his career, the thought he would be at ease with such action seems far-fetched.

Policy Stances and Pressures

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

Opponents demanded denounce it before the interview. And the government is likely to face further scrutiny to give an clear view in Parliament in the coming days.

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

Sir Keir rejects he's heading in that direction, but his new more concrete plan to integrate further with the single market – the giant economic European trading zone – will probably provoke howls that he is reneging on his promise never to try to overturn the choices that flowed from Brexit.

A commitment to integrate into more of the single market will delight many on his own side, but it is simple material for Reform and the Conservatives to