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"I will be positioned in the same seat by 2027," Sir Keir Starmer declared, adding that if the interview went well, he might welcome us into his official residence for another chat in the coming year.

There is never any time off for those in the top job. Shortly before the interview began, Sir Keir had been on the phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and trying to understand exactly what had transpired in Venezuela, where his big ally, US President Donald Trump, had recently attacked and captured its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

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

A Refresh for the New Year

As the year commences, Starmer appears to have had something of a revitalisation. Maybe even just a bit of a rest with loved ones at Chequers, the prime minister's official country residence.

This appeared to have put him in improved morale than at the saggy tail end of 2025, a terrible year politically for him.

But are he and his supporters kidding themselves if they believe his standing are set to get better?

Party Concerns

The harsh reality for the leader is that a significant number of his colleagues think he's underperforming at his job. A faction of them would rather gamble and get him out in 2026.

But Starmer was having none of it in the interview on Saturday morning.

Multiple times he told me he'd be "evaluated at the next election", arguing nobody would take his electoral mandate from him – despite the fact that the most effective strategy of halting Nigel Farage and Reform UK reaching No 10 may be for Labour to switch leader.

"We are in the struggle of our lifetime and I plan to be at the forefront," he declared.

Upcoming Local Votes

The challenge for the PM is that he will be judged well ahead of then – in a major set of elections in May across the UK. He attempted to contend, maybe too much, that they are concerning who runs local authorities, and who runs the devolved administrations in Holyrood or Cardiff – and unrelated to Westminster.

Accurate – in part. But although he may be reluctant to admit it, No 10 will be evaluated by those elections too.

Despite this, Sir Keir suggesting that there were no situation under which he would step down, should a his colleagues contested his leadership for the job, if those elections be disastrous for Labour.

Predicting a Turnaround

He sought to explain his low poll ratings by saying the voters was naturally anxious for things to get better. He tried to persuade the interviewer, and the public, that the coming months would be distinct.

The economy would recover notwithstanding rising unemployment, he argued, when plans the government put in place during their initial rocky year began to show results.

• He pledged to close asylum hotels ahead of the current deadline of 2029, but he wouldn't set a specific date on that.
• He added too, with the proviso that it was not a done deal, that a peace agreement in Ukraine felt more likely now than at any time since Russia's comprehensive invasion.
• He stated for the first occasion that Western partners were now considering how to combine US and European forces to ensure security for Ukraine – to safeguard a possible peace.

His core message is that this year the country will "see an improvement".

Familiar Arguments

The PM may have communicated with more energy than I've seen from him for a some time – less tense, maybe, with a longer slot to talk.

But despite encountering pressure from various quarters for a bolder strategy, with increased political vision, more dynamism, more speed and more urgency, his explanations were well-known ones.

Given that he is in considerable political peril, is a different approach required a change of tack?

No government, and especially not one that has been struggling in the polls for an extended period, has everything its as desired.

The Prime Minister's challenges are not just because government is challenging, but because he and his colleagues have faltered, including in the last few weeks.

Regrets and Risks

The prime minister admitted that he was sorry for saying he was "delighted" to see the return of the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK after an controversy when comments he'd made in the past – including calls for Zionists and police to be killed – resurfaced.

Sir Keir blamed "procedures" for failing to identify what the activist had said before – a fancier way of saying it wasn't his responsibility.

And he is facing clear political risks as the year gets going. His alliance with the US president entails a new risk after Trump's military action on Venezuela.

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

International Law and Brexit

He told me he was a "career-long champion of international law" but the public "simply haven't got the complete details at the moment".

Opponents demanded criticise the action before we spoke. And the administration is expected to face more pressure to give an clear view in Parliament in the next few days.

There has also consistently been bubbling pressure in the Labour ranks to reverse or renegotiate some of the results of Brexit.

Sir Keir disputes he's doing that, but his new firmer commitment to integrate further with the single market – the vast economic European market – will probably provoke protests that he is breaking his vow never to try to reverse the choices that followed Brexit.

A commitment to cosy up to more of the single market will delight a faction on his backbenches, but it is easy fodder for Reform and the Conservatives to