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"I'll remain in this position by 2027," Starmer stated, adding that if our interview was successful, he might invite us into Number 10 for another chat in 2026.

For a PM, there's rarely ever break for leaders. Shortly before we sat down, Sir Keir had been on the phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and attempting to decipher 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.

When the discussion, which was far more extended than typical, had ended, Maduro had been indicted in New York.

A Refresh for the New Year

With the year commences, the Prime Minister appears to have had a degree of a refresh. Perhaps even just a little relaxation with his family at Chequers, the prime minister's official country residence.

This seemed to have resulted in better spirits than at the saggy tail end of 2025, a dreadful year politically for him.

But are he and his supporters being unrealistic if they think his standing are set to improve?

Party Concerns

The harsh reality for the leader is that numerous of his fellow MPs believe he's not very good at his job. Several of them would sooner gamble and remove him in 2026.

However Starmer was having none of it when we spoke on Saturday morning.

Multiple times he stated he'd be "judged at the next election", maintaining nobody would remove his term from him – despite the fact that the most effective strategy of stopping Nigel Farage and Reform UK getting to No 10 might be for Labour to change leader.

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

The Spring Test

The problem for the PM is that he will be scrutinised far sooner than then – in a major set of elections in May across the UK. He attempted to argue, maybe too much, that they are about who runs local authorities, and who runs the devolved administrations in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not a verdict on Westminster.

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

This did not stop Sir Keir implying that there were no circumstances under which he would walk away, should one of his MPs contested his leadership for the job, should those elections be catastrophic for Labour.

Promises of Improvement

He attempted to rationalise his unpopularity by saying the voters was naturally anxious for things to change. He sought to persuade the interviewer, and the public, that 2026 would be different.

The economic situation would recover in the face of rising unemployment, he argued, when strategies the administration put in place during their initial choppy year began to take effect.

• He pledged to shut asylum hotels ahead of the current deadline of 2029, but he did not set a new date on that.
• He said too, with the caveat that it was not a foregone conclusion, that a peace agreement in Ukraine felt more likely now than at any time since Russia's major invasion.
• He disclosed for the first occasion that Western allies were now considering how to coordinate US and European forces to provide security for Ukraine – to protect a possible peace.

His central point is that this year the country will "turn the corner".

Familiar Arguments

The prime minister may have spoken with more energy than I've seen from him for a while – more relaxed, maybe, with a longer slot to talk.

However, in spite of facing demands from various quarters for a more decisive strategy, with greater political clarity, more dynamism, more speed and more urgency, his points were repeated ones.

Given that he is in such significant political difficulty, should he consider a change of tack?

No government, and especially not one that has been unpopular for an extended period, has everything its own way.

The Prime Minister's problems are not just because government is difficult, but because he and his team have erred, even in the last few weeks.

Controversies and Dangers

The PM admitted that he regretted saying he was "happy" to welcome back the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK following an outcry when past remarks he'd made in the past – including calls for Zionists and police to be killed – surfaced.

Starmer blamed "procedures" for failing to identify what the activist had said before – a more diplomatic way of saying not my fault.

And he is inviting evident political dangers as the year progresses. His alliance with the US president takes on a new risk after Trump's strikes on Venezuela.

Having interviewed Sir Keir Starmer, a former human rights lawyer who was against the war in Iraq, over many years, the idea he would be at ease with these events seems unlikely.

Policy Stances and Pressures

He stated he was a "longtime advocate of international law" but we "just lack the complete details at the moment".

Critics demanded denounce it before the interview. And the government is expected to face increased demands to give an clear view in Parliament in the next few days.

There has also always been simmering tension in the Labour ranks to reverse or renegotiate some of the results of Brexit.

The PM denies he's pursuing that, but his new more concrete pledge to align more closely with the single market – the giant economic European trading zone – will probably trigger protests that he is going back on his promise never to try to undo the choices that followed Brexit.

A decision to align with more of the single market will delight many on his backbenches, but it is prime ammunition for Reform and the Conservatives to