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"I'll remain in this position by 2027," the Prime Minister declared, adding that if our discussion was successful, he might invite the interviewer into Downing Street for another talk in the coming year.

For a PM, there's never truly downtime for leaders. Shortly before the interview began, the PM had been speaking with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and working to work out what on earth had occurred in Venezuela, where his key ally, US President Donald Trump, had just targeted and seized its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

Once our interview, which was far more extended than normal, had finished, Maduro had been formally accused in New York.

Renewed Energy for the New Year

With the year starts, Starmer seems to have had something of a revitalisation. Maybe even just some downtime with his family at Chequers, the prime minister's official country residence.

This seemed to have left him in improved morale than at the difficult tail end of 2025, a dreadful year politically for him.

Yet, are he and his allies being unrealistic if they reckon his political fate are poised to turn around?

Internal Doubts

The uncomfortable truth for the PM is that a significant number of his fellow MPs think he's underperforming at his job. Several of them would sooner take a risk and get him out in 2026.

However Starmer was rejecting the idea when we spoke on Saturday morning.

Multiple times he stated he'd be "evaluated at the poll", insisting no one would take his term from him – despite the fact that the optimal path of halting Nigel Farage and Reform UK getting to No 10 could be for Labour to switch its leader.

"This is the struggle of our times and I intend to be at the forefront," he declared.

Upcoming Local Votes

The challenge for the prime minister is that he will be scrutinised well ahead of then – in a mega set of elections in May throughout the UK. He attempted to argue, perhaps too much, that they are concerning who runs local authorities, and who runs the governments in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not a verdict on Westminster.

True – to some extent. But although he may not want to admit it, No 10 will be evaluated by those elections too.

This did not stop Sir Keir suggesting that there were no circumstances under which he would resign, should a his colleagues challenged him for the job, if those elections be disastrous for Labour.

An Optimistic Outlook

He attempted to account for his low poll ratings by saying the voters was reasonably anxious for things to change. He tried to convince the interviewer, and the nation, that this year would be a change.

The economic situation would strengthen despite rising unemployment, he claimed, when strategies the administration implemented during their initial choppy year began to show results.

• He pledged to close asylum hotels ahead of the current deadline of 2029, but he wouldn't set a firm date on that.
• He noted too, with the proviso that it wasn't a done deal, that a settlement in Ukraine felt more likely now than at any point since Russia's full-scale invasion.
• He revealed for the first time that Western partners were now considering how to coordinate US and European forces to provide security for Ukraine – to protect a possible peace.

His big point is that in 2026 the country will "see an improvement".

A Consistent Script

The PM may have communicated with renewed vitality than observed from him for a while – calmer, maybe, with more time to talk.

However, in spite of facing pressure from various quarters for a more decisive approach, with increased political clarity, more dynamism, more speed and more immediacy, his points were familiar ones.

Given that he is in considerable political peril, does he need a new narrative?

No government, and especially not one that has been struggling in the polls for many months, gets everything its as desired.

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

Controversies and Dangers

The prime minister expressed regret 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 statements he'd made in the past – such as calls for Zionists and police to be killed – surfaced.

Sir Keir attributed it to "procedures" for not catching what the activist had said before – a fancier way of saying not my fault.

And he is inviting clear political risks as the year gets going. His close relationship with the US president entails a new jeopardy after Trump's intervention on Venezuela.

Having interviewed Sir Keir Starmer, a ex- human rights lawyer who opposed the war in Iraq, over a long period, the notion he would be comfortable with such action seems implausible.

International Law and Brexit

He stated he was a "longtime proponent of international law" but the public "just haven't got the entire story at the moment".

Opponents demanded condemn it prior to the interview. And the administration is expected to face more pressure to give an clear view in Parliament in the coming days.

And there has consistently been bubbling desire in the Labour party to revisit some of the outcomes of Brexit.

The PM denies he's doing that, but his new firmer commitment to align more closely with the single market – the huge economic European market – will probably trigger protests that he is reneging on his promise never to try to reverse the choices that stemmed from Brexit.

A move to integrate into more of the single market will please some on his side of the party, but it is easy fodder for Reform and the Conservatives to