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"I will remain in the same seat by 2027," the Prime Minister remarked, adding that if the discussion proceeded smoothly, he might welcome us into Number 10 for another talk in 2026.

For a PM, there's never any break for prime ministers. Shortly before our chat started, the PM had been speaking with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and trying to decipher what on earth had occurred in Venezuela, where his key political chum, US President Donald Trump, had recently targeted and seized its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

By the time the discussion, which was much longer than usual, had concluded, Maduro had been charged in New York.

A Reboot for the New Year

With the year commences, Starmer seems to have had something of a reboot. Maybe even just a little downtime with loved ones at Chequers, the prime minister's country retreat.

That certainly seemed to have resulted in a more positive mood than at the saggy tail end of 2025, a awful political year for him.

But are he and his supporters kidding themselves if they reckon his political fate are set to turn around?

Internal Doubts

The harsh reality for the PM is that many of his colleagues believe he's not very good at his job. Several of them would sooner take a risk and oust him this year.

But Starmer was having none of it during our conversation on Saturday morning.

On several occasions he told me he'd be "evaluated at the poll", insisting no one would strip his five-year mandate from him – even if the optimal path of halting Nigel Farage and Reform UK entering No 10 could be for Labour to switch leader.

"This is the fight of our lifetime and I aim to lead us," he said.

The May Elections

The issue for the prime minister is that he will be assessed well ahead of then – in a mega 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.

True – in part. But even though he may not want to acknowledge it, No 10 will be held accountable by those elections too.

Despite this, Sir Keir suggesting that there were no scenario under which he would resign, even if a his MPs contested his leadership for the job, should those elections prove very poor for Labour.

An Optimistic Outlook

He sought to explain his low poll ratings by saying the voters was understandably eager for things to improve. He aimed to convince the interviewer, and the public, that this year would be different.

The economy would improve despite rising unemployment, he argued, when plans the government implemented during their first choppy year began to show results.

• He pledged to shut asylum hotels before the current deadline of 2029, but he did not put a specific date on that.
• He noted too, with the proviso that it was not a done deal, that a settlement in Ukraine felt closer now than at any point since Russia's major invasion.
• He disclosed for the first occasion that Western allies were now discussing how to coordinate US and European forces to ensure security for Ukraine – to safeguard a possible peace.

His core point is that in 2026 the country will "turn the corner".

Political Challenges

The prime minister may have communicated with greater vigour than observed from him for a some time – calmer, maybe, with a longer slot to talk.

But despite encountering calls from within his own party for a more decisive approach, with increased political vision, more urgency, more speed and more urgency, his explanations were repeated ones.

Given that he is in considerable political peril, does he need a different script?

No government, and especially not one that has been unpopular for many months, has everything its as planned.

Sir Keir's challenges are not only because government is difficult, but because he and his colleagues have made mistakes, including in the last few weeks.

Regrets and Risks

The PM admitted that he regretted saying he was "happy" to see the return of the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK after an controversy when statements he'd previously made – such as calls for Zionists and police to be killed – surfaced.

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

And he is courting evident political perils as the year gets going. His alliance with the US president takes on 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 idea he would be content with such action seems far-fetched.

Policy Stances and Pressures

He told me he was a "lifelong champion of international law" but the public "simply haven't got the full picture at the moment".

Critics wanted him to denounce it prior to we spoke. And the administration is likely to face further scrutiny to give an definitive view in Parliament in the near future.

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

The PM rejects he's pursuing that, but his new more concrete commitment to move closer with the European trading bloc – the huge economic European trading zone – will likely provoke accusations that he is going back on his pledge never to try to overturn the decisions that flowed from Brexit.

A commitment to align with more of the single market will delight a faction on his own side, but it is simple material for Reform and the Conservatives to