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"I will remain in this position by 2027," the Prime Minister declared, joking that if the interview went well, he might invite us into Number 10 for a follow-up conversation in the coming year.

There is rarely ever downtime for leaders. In the hour before our chat started, Starmer had been in calls with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and working to work out what on earth had happened in Venezuela, where his key friend, US President Donald Trump, had recently targeted and seized its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

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

A Refresh for the New Year

As the new year begins, the Prime Minister appears to have had a degree of a refresh. Maybe even just a bit of relaxation with the family at Chequers, the prime minister's rural getaway.

That certainly seemed to have left him in better spirits than at the saggy end of 2025, a dreadful year politically for him.

Yet, are he and his colleagues being unrealistic if they reckon his fortunes are set to get better?

Party Concerns

The harsh truth for the prime minister is that many of his colleagues believe he's underperforming at his job. A faction of them would sooner gamble and remove him sooner rather than later.

But Starmer was having none of it in the interview on Saturday morning.

Multiple times he told me he'd be "evaluated at the next election", insisting no one would strip his term from him – even if the optimal path of stopping Nigel Farage and Reform UK reaching No 10 could be for Labour to change leader.

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

The Spring Test

The problem for the PM is that he will be judged well ahead of then – in a mega set of elections in May across the UK. He attempted to contend, maybe too much, that they are about who runs councils, and who runs the devolved administrations in Holyrood or Cardiff – and unrelated to Westminster.

True – in part. But even though he may be reluctant to admit it, No 10 will be held accountable by those elections too.

This did not stop Sir Keir stating that there were no circumstances under which he would step down, should one of his colleagues challenged him for the job, should those elections be very poor for Labour.

An Optimistic Outlook

He tried to account for his unpopularity by saying the electorate was reasonably impatient for things to change. He sought to assure the interviewer, and the nation, that the coming months would be distinct.

The economic situation would strengthen notwithstanding rising unemployment, he claimed, when plans the government enacted during their first rocky year began to bear fruit.

• He committed to close asylum hotels before the current deadline of 2029, but he did not put a specific date on that.
• He noted too, with the caveat that it wasn't a done deal, that a peace deal in Ukraine felt more likely now than at any time since Russia's comprehensive invasion.
• He revealed for the first time that Western partners were now talking about how to coordinate US and European forces to offer security for Ukraine – to guard a potential peace.

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

Political Challenges

The prime minister may have communicated with greater vigour than observed from him for a while – more relaxed, maybe, with a longer slot to talk.

But despite facing calls from various quarters for a bolder approach, with increased political vision, more urgency, more speed and more urgency, his points were familiar ones.

Given that he is in such significant political difficulty, does he need a change of tack?

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

Sir Keir's challenges are not just because government is difficult, but because he and his team have faltered, even in the recent past.

Regrets and Risks

The PM told me that he was sorry for saying he was "delighted" to welcome back the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK after an backlash when past remarks he'd previously made – including calls for Zionists and police to be killed – surfaced.

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

And he is courting clear political risks as the year gets going. His alliance with the US president takes on a new complication after Trump's intervention on Venezuela.

Based on years of interviewing Sir Keir Starmer, a former human rights lawyer who opposed the war in Iraq, over many years, the notion he would be content with this kind of intervention seems implausible.

Policy Stances and Pressures

He told me he was a "lifelong champion of international law" but we "simply lack the entire story at the moment".

Some demanded denounce it 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 long been bubbling desire in the Labour party to undo or remake some of the outcomes of Brexit.

The PM denies he's pursuing that, but his new firmer commitment to move closer with the single market – the vast economic European market – will probably elicit accusations that he is reneging on his promise never to try to undo the choices that flowed from Brexit.

A move to cosy up to more of the single market will please a faction on his own side, but it is simple material for Reform and the Conservatives to