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"I'll be sitting in the same office by 2027," Sir Keir Starmer stated, noting that if the discussion proceeded smoothly, he might welcome the interviewer into Number 10 for a follow-up talk in 2026.

There is never any time off for those in the top job. Just an hour before we sat down, the PM had been on the phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and attempting to work out what on earth had happened in Venezuela, where his close ally, US President Donald Trump, had recently launched a strike against and detained its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

Once the discussion, which was considerably lengthier than normal, had ended, Maduro had been formally accused in New York.

A Reboot for the New Year

With the year starts, Sir Keir seems to have had a kind of a refresh. Perhaps even just a bit of relaxation with his family at Chequers, the prime minister's country retreat.

That certainly seemed to have put him in improved morale than at the saggy conclusion of 2025, a dreadful political year for him.

Yet, are he and his supporters being unrealistic if they believe his standing are poised to get better?

Internal Doubts

The harsh reality for the leader is that many of his fellow MPs are convinced he's underperforming at his job. Several of them would sooner gamble and oust him this year.

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

Repeatedly he told me he'd be "assessed at the general election", maintaining no one would remove his five-year mandate from him – despite the fact that the best chance of halting Nigel Farage and Reform UK getting to No 10 could be for Labour to change leader.

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

Upcoming Local Votes

The issue for the PM is that he will be judged far sooner than then – in a huge set of elections in May across the UK. He sought to argue, perhaps excessively, that they are about who runs councils, and who runs the governments in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not a verdict on Westminster.

Accurate – to some extent. But even though he may not want to acknowledge it, No 10 will be judged by those elections too.

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

An Optimistic Outlook

He attempted to account for his low poll ratings by saying the voters was naturally impatient for things to get better. He sought to assure me, and the public, that 2026 would be different.

The economic situation would strengthen notwithstanding rising unemployment, he claimed, when plans the administration put in place during their initial turbulent year began to bear fruit.

• He vowed to close asylum hotels before the current deadline of 2029, although he wouldn't set a specific date on that.
• He said too, with the caveat that it was not a foregone conclusion, that a settlement 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 coordinate US and European forces to provide security for Ukraine – to safeguard a possible peace.

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

Political Challenges

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

However, in spite of encountering demands from many directions for a bolder strategy, with greater political vision, more urgency, more speed and more urgency, his arguments were repeated ones.

Given that he is in this much political trouble, does he need a different script?

No administration, and certainly not one that has been struggling in the polls for many months, has everything its own way.

The Prime Minister's problems are not only because governing is hard, but because he and his team have erred, even in the recent past.

Regrets and Risks

The PM expressed regret that he regretted saying he was "delighted" to welcome back the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK after an controversy when past remarks he'd made in the past – including calls for Zionists and police to be killed – came to light.

Sir Keir attributed it to "the system" for not realising what the activist had said before – a more diplomatic way of saying not my fault.

And he is courting evident political dangers as the year progresses. His close relationship with the US president entails a new jeopardy after Trump's strikes on Venezuela.

Having interviewed Sir Keir Starmer, a ex- human rights lawyer who opposed the war in Iraq, over his career, the notion he would be comfortable with these events seems implausible.

International Law and Brexit

He told me he was a "lifelong advocate of international law" but we "just haven't got the complete details at the moment".

Critics called for him to condemn it before the interview. And the government is likely to face more pressure to give an clear view in Parliament in the near future.

There has also always been growing pressure in the Labour ranks to revisit some of the results of Brexit.

Sir Keir rejects he's doing that, but his new firmer pledge to move closer with the single market – the vast economic European trading zone – will likely elicit howls that he is going back on his vow never to try to overturn the decisions that stemmed from Brexit.

A move to cosy up to more of the single market will satisfy a faction on his side of the party, but it is easy fodder for Reform and the Conservatives to