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"I'll be positioned in the same office by 2027," Sir Keir Starmer remarked, noting that if the conversation went well, he might welcome the interviewer into Downing Street for another conversation in 2026.

For a PM, there's rarely ever break for prime ministers. Shortly before we sat down, Starmer had been in calls with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and working to understand exactly what had transpired in Venezuela, where his close political chum, US President Donald Trump, had just attacked and captured its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

By the time our lengthy talk, which was considerably lengthier than normal, had concluded, Maduro had been indicted in New York.

A Refresh for the New Year

As the year starts, Starmer seems to have had a degree of a reboot. Perhaps even just some relaxation with loved ones at Chequers, the prime minister's country retreat.

That certainly seemed to have put him in a more positive mood than at the sluggish end of 2025, a dreadful annus horribilis for him.

Yet, are he and his colleagues deluding themselves if they think his political fate are set to improve?

Leadership Questions

The grisly reality for the prime minister is that a significant number of his fellow MPs believe he's ineffective at his job. Several of them would rather gamble and get him out sooner rather than later.

However Starmer was dismissing such talk during our conversation on Saturday morning.

Multiple times he insisted he'd be "evaluated at the general election", insisting no one would remove his term from him – despite the fact that the best chance of preventing Nigel Farage and Reform UK entering No 10 might be for Labour to switch leader.

"We are in the struggle of our lifetime and I aim to lead us," he affirmed.

Upcoming Local Votes

The problem for the PM is that he will be assessed well ahead of then – in a huge set of elections in May throughout the UK. He attempted to contend, perhaps too much, that they are about 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 be reluctant to admit it, No 10 will be held accountable by those elections too.

Despite this, Sir Keir stating that there were no circumstances under which he would step down, should one of his MPs ran against him for the job, if those elections prove very poor for Labour.

An Optimistic Outlook

He sought to account for his low poll ratings by saying the electorate was understandably impatient for things to get better. He tried to persuade me, and the public, that this year would be a change.

The economic situation would recover despite rising unemployment, he argued, when plans the administration implemented during their initial turbulent year began to take effect.

• He vowed to empty asylum hotels before the current deadline of 2029, but he did not put a specific date on that.
• He added too, with the proviso that it wasn't a foregone conclusion, that a peace agreement in Ukraine felt more likely now than at any time since Russia's comprehensive invasion.
• He stated for the first time that Western partners were now talking about how to coordinate US and European forces to provide security for Ukraine – to guard a potential peace.

His core argument is that in 2026 the country will "see an improvement".

Political Challenges

The PM may have spoken with more energy than I've seen from him for a while – less tense, perhaps, with more time to talk.

But despite facing pressure from many directions for a bolder strategy, with greater political direction, more dynamism, more pace and more urgency, his explanations were familiar ones.

Given that he is in considerable political trouble, should he consider a new narrative?

No administration, and especially not one that has been struggling in the polls for an extended period, has everything its own way.

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

Regrets and Risks

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

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

And he is inviting evident political risks as the year unfolds. His friendship with the US president acquires a new complication after Trump's intervention on Venezuela.

Having interviewed Sir Keir Starmer, a ex- human rights lawyer who opposed the war in Iraq, over many years, the idea he would be at ease with this kind of intervention seems unlikely.

Policy Stances and Pressures

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

Some demanded criticise the action prior to the interview. And the government is likely to face more pressure to give an explicit view in Parliament in the coming days.

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

The PM disputes he's pursuing that, but his new specific plan to move closer with the European trading bloc – the vast economic European market – will likely trigger howls that he is reneging on his vow never to try to undo the results that flowed from Brexit.

A commitment to align with more of the single market will delight many on his side of the party, but it is easy fodder for Reform and the Conservatives to