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"I'll be positioned in this seat by 2027," the Prime Minister declared, adding that if the conversation proceeded smoothly, he might invite the interviewer into Downing Street for another talk in 2026.

There is rarely ever time off for leaders. Just an hour before we sat down, Sir Keir had been on the phone with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and working to decipher what on earth had happened in Venezuela, where his key friend, US President Donald Trump, had recently launched a strike against and detained its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

Once the discussion, which was far more extended than normal, had concluded, Maduro had been charged in New York.

Renewed Energy for the New Year

As the new year begins, Starmer seems to have had a degree of a revitalisation. Maybe even just some a rest with the family at Chequers, the prime minister's official country residence.

That certainly appeared to have put him in improved morale than at the sluggish end of 2025, a awful political year for him.

But are he and his colleagues being unrealistic if they think his standing are about to turn around?

Internal Doubts

The harsh reality for the PM is that a significant number of his fellow MPs are convinced he's not very good at his job. Some of them would rather take a risk and get him out sooner rather than later.

But Sir Keir was rejecting the idea during our conversation on Saturday morning.

On several occasions he stated he'd be "judged at the poll", arguing no one would take his electoral mandate from him – even if the most effective strategy of stopping Nigel Farage and Reform UK entering No 10 could be for Labour to switch its leader.

"We are in the fight of our times and I plan to be at the forefront," he said.

The May Elections

The issue for the PM is that he will be scrutinised far sooner than then – in a major set of elections in May throughout the UK. He attempted to argue, maybe excessively, that they are concerning who runs local authorities, and who runs the governments in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not a verdict on Westminster.

Accurate – up to a point. But although he may be reluctant to acknowledge it, No 10 will be held accountable by those elections too.

This did not stop Sir Keir implying that there were no situation under which he would walk away, even if a his MPs ran against him for the job, if those elections be very poor for Labour.

Promises of Improvement

He attempted to explain his unpopularity by saying the public was reasonably eager for things to get better. He sought to assure me, and the public, that this year would be different.

The economy would recover notwithstanding rising unemployment, he claimed, when plans the administration enacted during their initial choppy year began to show results.

• He committed to shut asylum hotels before the current deadline of 2029, but he wouldn't put a firm date on that.
• He noted too, with the caveat that it wasn't a certainty, that a peace agreement in Ukraine felt a greater possibility now than at any time since Russia's full-scale invasion.
• He stated for the first time that Western allies were now discussing how to integrate US and European forces to offer security for Ukraine – to guard a possible peace.

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

A Consistent Script

The PM may have communicated with greater vigour than observed from him for a some time – more relaxed, maybe, with a longer slot to talk.

However, in spite of facing demands from many directions for a bolder approach, with increased political clarity, more urgency, more pace and more urgency, his points were well-known ones.

When he finds himself in such significant political peril, is a different approach required a new narrative?

No government, and certainly not one that has been struggling in the polls for many months, gets everything its as desired.

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

Regrets and Risks

The prime minister 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 following an backlash when past remarks he'd made in the past – including calls for Zionists and police to be killed – came to light.

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

And he is courting clear political dangers as the year progresses. His close relationship with the US president takes on a new risk after Trump's intervention on Venezuela.

Having interviewed Sir Keir Starmer, a former human rights lawyer who opposed the war in Iraq, over many years, the idea he would be content with these events seems implausible.

International Law and Brexit

He told me he was a "career-long advocate of international law" but the public "simply do not have the complete details at the moment".

Critics demanded denounce it before the interview. And the administration is expected to face more pressure to give an definitive view in Parliament in the near future.

There has also long been growing pressure in the Labour party to revisit some of the outcomes of Brexit.

The PM rejects he's doing that, but his new specific plan to align more closely with the European trading bloc – the vast economic European market – will likely trigger accusations that he is reneging on his pledge never to try to overturn the results that stemmed from Brexit.

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