Keir Starmer is a prominent British politician and barrister who has been serving as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom since 2024. He has led the Labour Party since 2020 and was previously the Leader of the Opposition from 2020 to 2024. He has represented Holborn and St Pancras as a Member of Parliament since 2015. Before his political career, he was the Director of Public Prosecutions from 2008 to 2013.
Keir served as a human rights advisor to the Northern Ireland Policing Board and was made a Queen’s Counsel in 2002, with his experiences in Northern Ireland influencing his shift toward politics. As Director of Public Prosecutions, he handled significant cases, including the Stephen Lawrence murder case. Recognizing his contributions to law and criminal justice, he was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in 2014.
Elected to the House of Commons in the 2015 general election, Starmer initially served as a backbencher and supported the Britain Stronger in Europe campaign during the 2016 EU referendum. He then joined Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow cabinet as Shadow Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, and he advocated for a second Brexit referendum.
When Corbyn resigned after Labour’s 2019 general election defeat, Starmer won the 2020 leadership election on a left-wing platform. Under his leadership, Labour won local elections in 2023 and 2024. Starmer outlined five key missions for his government, focusing on economic growth, health, clean energy, crime, and education.
In July 2024, Starmer led Labour to a decisive victory in the general election, ending 14 years of Conservative rule and making Labour the largest party in the House of Commons. He became Prime Minister on 5 July 2024, succeeding Rishi Sunak and becoming the first Labour Prime Minister since Gordon Brown in 2010 and the first to win a general election since Tony Blair in 2005. 1wikipediaÂ
A fairer, healthier, and more secure Britain, at the service of working people, with growth from every community. A Britain ready to restore that promise. The bond that reaches through the generations and says – this country will be better for your children.
— Keir Starmer
Keir Starmer Biography/Wikipedia
Keir Rodney Starmer was born on 2 September 1962 in London, England and he is 61 years old as of 2023. He is a White British who follows the Christian religion as his belief.
Keir Starmer Education
Starmer attended Reigate Grammar School after passing the 11-plus exam. At that time, the school was a voluntary-aided selective grammar school. During his attendance, the school transitioned to an independent fee-paying institution, but due to the terms of this change, his parents did not have to pay fees until he turned 16.
Keir Starmer earned his Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Leeds in 1985, after a postgraduate Bachelor of Civil Law degree from St Edmund Hall, University of Oxford, in 1986. Starmer was actively involved in Labour politics during his teenage years and joined the Labour Party Young Socialists at 16.
He also attended the Guildhall School of Music and Drama as a junior exhibitioner, playing multiple instruments, including the flute, piano, recorder, and violin.
Starmer pursued a law degree at the University of Leeds, graduating with first-class honours in 1985, becoming the first in his family to earn a university degree. He then completed postgraduate studies at St Edmund Hall, Oxford, receiving a Bachelor of Civil Law degree in 1986. From 1986 to 1987, he served as the editor of Socialist Alternatives, a Trotskyist magazine affiliated with the International Revolutionary Marxist Tendency. 2wikipediaÂ
Keir Starmer Parents
Keir Starmer is the of Josephine, who was a nurse, and Rodney Starmer, who was a toolmaker. His mother worked for the National Health Service, Britain’s free public health care system and his father was a toolmaker — a fact that Starmer repeated so often during the election campaign that it became a meme. 3time
Read Another BiographyÂ
Keir Starmer Wife
Keir Starmer first met Victoria Starmer in the early 2000s and despite this rocky start, they grew close, became engaged in 2004, and married on May 6, 2007, at the Fennes Estate in Essex. The couple have a 16-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl, neither of whom has ever appeared publicly before.
Keir Starmer Career
Keir Starmer was the first in his family to attend university. After graduation, he helped run a left-wing magazine called Socialist Alternatives. He later became a lawyer, eventually leading the Crown Prosecution Service as the Director of Public Prosecutions in 2008. For his work in criminal justice, he was knighted in 2014, just before entering politics.
Sir Keir Starmer, once a lawyer knighted for his services to criminal justice, is known for his managerial approach. This has contrasted sharply with the chaotic periods of leaders like Boris Johnson during “Partygate” and Liz Truss’s brief tenure.
Starmer spent about 20 years as a human rights lawyer and advised Northern Ireland police after the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. He then shifted to prosecution, leading the Crown Prosecution Service for five years, a move that disappointed some of his human rights colleagues. During the 2011 London riots, he fast-tracked prosecutions to act as a crime deterrent.
In 2014, Starmer was knighted by Charles, then Prince of Wales, despite his earlier calls for abolishing the monarchy. In the next year, he was elected as MP for Holborn and St Pancras. In 2020, he became the Labour Party leader. He quickly suspended Corbyn from the party due to antisemitism accusations, though Corbyn retained his parliamentary seat as an independent. 4telegraphy.co.uk
“We need to move forward together, acknowledging the huge lack of trust in politics in the country generally and saying it can “only be healed by actions, not words. I know that, but we can make a start today.”
“My government will serve you, politics can be a force for good,” by putting “country first, party second.” 5cbsnewsÂ
Keir’s Books & Publications
- Justice in Error
- The Three Pillars of Liberty
- Signing Up for Human Rights
- Miscarriages of Justice
- European Human Rights Law
Keir’s Accolades
- In 2002, Starmer was appointed Queen’s Counsel (QC).
- He received the Bar Council’s Sydney Elland Goldsmith Award in 2005 for his outstanding contribution to pro bono work in challenging the death penalty in Uganda, Kenya, Malawi, and the Caribbean.
- Starmer was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in the 2014 New Year Honours for “services to law and criminal justice”.
- He was sworn into the Privy Council of the United Kingdom on 19 July 2017. This enabled him to be styled “The Right Honourable”.
