Keir Starmer
Age: 61
Education:
Reigate Grammar School
University of Leeds
University of Oxford
Family:
Married to Victoria Alexander, an NHS occupational therapist
They have one son and one daughter
Parliamentary Constituency:
Holborn and St Pancras since 2015
Background:
Keir Starmer often describes himself as coming from a "working class background," referencing the "pebble-dash semi" in Oxted, Surrey, where he grew up. His father was a toolmaker, and his mother, who suffered from Still's disease, worked as a nurse. He attended Reigate Grammar School, which became a private school two years after he joined, with his fees paid by the local council until he was 16. Starmer was the first in his family to attend university, studying law at Leeds and later Oxford.
Career:
In 1987, Starmer became a barrister, specializing in human rights law. His work took him to the Caribbean and Africa, where he defended prisoners facing the death penalty. In the late 1990s, he offered his services pro bono to the McLibel activists, who were sued by McDonald's for distributing critical leaflets. In 2008, he was named the Director of Public Prosecutions, becoming the most senior criminal prosecutor in England and Wales.
Political Journey:
Starmer became the MP for Holborn and St Pancras in north London in 2015. He served as shadow Brexit secretary under former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, advocating for a second EU referendum. Following Labour's heavy defeat in the 2019 general election, Starmer won the leadership contest in April 2020. In his victory speech, he pledged to lead Labour "into a new era with confidence and hope."
Key Pledges:
Healthcare: Reduce NHS waiting lists by providing 40,000 more appointments each week, funded by tackling tax avoidance and closing tax loopholes.
Immigration: Launch a ‘border security command’ to stop people-smuggling gangs from arranging small boat crossings.
Housing: Build 1.5 million new homes by reforming planning laws and introduce a scheme to give first-time buyers "first dibs" in new housing developments.
Education: Recruit 6,500 teachers, paid for by ending tax breaks for private schools.
Labour Party's Current Status:
Since October 2021, Labour has consistently led the Conservatives in the polls, maintaining a lead of around 20 percentage points since early 2023. Initially, Starmer struggled to boost Labour's poor poll ratings. A by-election loss in Hartlepool in 2021 led to a focus on winning back voters in the so-called Red Wall—constituencies in the North of England and the Midlands, traditionally Labour strongholds, but won by the Conservatives in 2019. This policy rethink led to Starmer abandoning pledges to abolish university tuition fees and nationalize energy and water companies, causing some on the left of the party to accuse him of betrayal. Before the recent election, Labour had 205 MPs. To win an outright majority, they needed to secure 326 seats.
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