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"I'll be sitting in the same office by 2027," the Prime Minister stated, adding that if the discussion proceeded smoothly, he might welcome the interviewer into Downing Street for another talk in 2026.

For a PM, there's rarely ever downtime for prime ministers. Just an hour before we sat down, the PM had been speaking with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and working to decipher exactly what had transpired in Venezuela, where his key ally, US President Donald Trump, had recently attacked and captured its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

When the discussion, which was considerably lengthier than usual, had concluded, Maduro had been indicted in New York.

Renewed Energy 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 a rest with loved ones at Chequers, the prime minister's official country residence.

That certainly seemed to have put him in better spirits than at the difficult end of 2025, a dreadful year politically for him.

But are he and his supporters deluding themselves if they reckon his standing are about to turn around?

Internal Doubts

The uncomfortable truth for the PM is that a significant number of his party members are convinced he's underperforming at his job. Several of them would sooner gamble and oust him this year.

However Starmer was rejecting the idea when we spoke on Saturday morning.

On several occasions he told me he'd be "assessed at the next election", maintaining no one would strip his term from him – even if the best chance of preventing Nigel Farage and Reform UK reaching No 10 may be for Labour to change its leader.

"This is the battle of our lifetime and I intend to be at the forefront," he affirmed.

Upcoming Local Votes

The challenge for the PM is that he will be judged well ahead of then – in a mega set of elections in May across the UK. He sought to argue, maybe too much, that they are concerning who runs councils, and who runs the devolved administrations in Holyrood or Cardiff – and not a verdict on Westminster.

Accurate – to some extent. But although he may be reluctant to acknowledge it, No 10 will be judged by those elections too.

Despite this, Sir Keir stating that there were no situation under which he would walk away, should one of his MPs challenged him for the job, should those elections be catastrophic for Labour.

Promises of Improvement

He attempted to account for his low poll ratings by saying the electorate was reasonably anxious for things to change. He aimed to persuade the interviewer, and the nation, that this year would be different.

The economic situation would strengthen despite rising unemployment, he claimed, when strategies the government implemented during their initial turbulent year began to show results.

• He committed to shut asylum hotels before the current target date of 2029, but he did not set a specific date on that.
• He added too, with the qualification that it wasn't a foregone conclusion, that a peace agreement in Ukraine felt a greater possibility now than at any point since Russia's comprehensive invasion.
• He disclosed for the first time that Western partners were now discussing how to coordinate US and European forces to offer security for Ukraine – to guard a potential peace.

His big argument is that soon the country will "turn the corner".

Political Challenges

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

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

When he finds himself in this much political trouble, is a different approach required a different script?

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

The Prime Minister's problems are not only because governing is hard, but because he and his team have erred, including in the last few weeks.

Controversies and Dangers

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

Starmer blamed "the process" for failing to identify what the activist had said before – a more diplomatic way of saying it wasn't his responsibility.

And he is facing clear political risks as the year progresses. His friendship with the US president takes on 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 a long period, the idea he would be at ease with these events seems far-fetched.

Policy Stances and Pressures

He asserted he was a "longtime advocate of international law" but we "simply haven't got the full picture at the moment".

Opponents called for him to criticise the action before we spoke. And the administration is expected to face increased demands to give an clear view in Parliament in the coming days.

There has also consistently been growing pressure in the Labour ranks to undo or remake some of the outcomes of Brexit.

The PM disputes he's pursuing that, but his new specific pledge to integrate further with the EU's single market – the huge economic European trading zone – will probably provoke accusations that he is breaking his pledge never to try to undo the choices that stemmed from Brexit.

A move to integrate into more of the single market will please some on his backbenches, but it is easy fodder for Reform and the Conservatives to