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"I will be positioned in this position by 2027," the Prime Minister stated, noting that if our discussion proceeded smoothly, he might welcome the interviewer into Downing Street for a follow-up talk in 2026.

There is rarely ever time off for prime ministers. In the hour before the interview began, Sir Keir had been speaking with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and working to work out what on earth had transpired in Venezuela, where his close ally, US President Donald Trump, had just launched a strike against and detained its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

When the discussion, which was far more extended than typical, had concluded, Maduro had been formally accused in New York.

A Reboot for the New Year

But as the new year begins, Sir Keir 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 appeared to have put him in better spirits than at the difficult conclusion of 2025, a dreadful annus horribilis for him.

But are he and his colleagues deluding themselves if they think his standing are poised to improve?

Internal Doubts

The uncomfortable truth for the leader is that numerous of his colleagues believe he's underperforming at his job. A faction of them would sooner take a risk and remove him in 2026.

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

Multiple times he stated he'd be "assessed at the poll", arguing nobody would strip his term from him – even if the most effective strategy of stopping Nigel Farage and Reform UK getting to No 10 might be for Labour to replace leader.

"This is the battle of our times and I plan to guide the party," he said.

The May Elections

The problem for the PM is that he will be scrutinised far sooner than then – in a huge 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 governments in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not a verdict on Westminster.

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

Despite this, Sir Keir implying that there were no situation under which he would resign, should one of his MPs ran against him for the job, should those elections prove very poor for Labour.

Promises of Improvement

He tried to explain his unpopularity by saying the voters was reasonably anxious for things to change. He sought to persuade me, and the nation, that the coming months would be different.

The economy would recover notwithstanding rising unemployment, he argued, when plans the administration enacted during their initial choppy year began to bear fruit.

• He pledged to empty asylum hotels before the current target date of 2029, although he did not set a new date on that.
• He noted too, with the caveat that it was not a done deal, that a peace deal in Ukraine felt closer now than at any point since Russia's comprehensive invasion.
• He revealed for the first time that Western partners were now discussing how to coordinate US and European forces to offer security for Ukraine – to safeguard a possible peace.

His central point is that soon the country will "see an improvement".

Familiar Arguments

The PM may have spoken with renewed vitality than I've seen from him for a some time – calmer, perhaps, with more time to talk.

However, in spite of facing calls from various quarters for a more decisive strategy, with greater political vision, more vigour, more speed and more immediacy, his explanations were familiar ones.

Given that he is in this much political difficulty, does he need a different script?

No government, and certainly not one that has been unpopular for an extended period, gets everything its as planned.

Sir Keir's problems are not just because government is challenging, but because he and his team have erred, even in the last few weeks.

Controversies and Dangers

The PM admitted that he was sorry for saying he was "delighted" to welcome back the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK after an outcry 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 not catching what the activist had said before – a more diplomatic way of saying not my fault.

And he is courting clear political dangers as the year progresses. His alliance with the US president entails a new complication 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 thought he would be at ease with this kind of intervention seems implausible.

Policy Stances and Pressures

He stated he was a "career-long advocate of international law" but the public "just haven't got the complete details at the moment".

Opponents wanted him to denounce it prior to we spoke. And the government is likely to face increased demands to give an definitive view in Parliament in the near future.

And there has always been simmering tension in the Labour ranks to undo or remake some of the consequences of Brexit.

The PM rejects he's heading in that direction, but his new firmer plan to integrate further with the single market – the giant economic European market – will likely trigger protests that he is going back on his promise never to try to overturn the choices that stemmed from Brexit.

A move to cosy up to more of the single market will satisfy some on his own side, but it is prime ammunition for Reform and the Conservatives to