One of the most interesting revelations about new British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is that he expressed hope that he could continue to set aside Friday evenings with his family because his wife Victoria is Jewish, and Friday-night Shabbat dinners are a family tradition.
He was born in 1963 to a toolmaker and a nurse who named him after Keir Hardie, the British Labour Party’s first leader. He launched his election campaign by explaining he knew what it was like to live in a struggling home. “There were hard times. I know what out-of-control inflation feels like, how the rising cost of living can make you scared of the postman coming down the path: Will he bring another bill we can’t afford?”
His mother suffered from a chronic illness, Still’s disease, that left her in pain, and her now famous son reflects that visiting her in the hospital and helping to care for her consolidated his strong support for Britain’s National Health Service (NHS).
Despite saying he does not adhere to a particular faith, Sir Keir spoke warmly to Premier Christian News about his personal experiences with the Christian community. “When I was young, my mother was very sick. I remember that the people in our community who really cared for her and looked after her right up until the day she died were the people from her church.”
He recognised that their compassion “wasn’t just because they were nice people. It was a deep expression of their faith. They made a huge difference to her, and to our family during a really tough time. I’ll always be grateful for that.”
Along with Australian-born barrister Geoffrey Robertson AO, Sir Keir was a founding member of Doughty Street Chambers, which now includes notable members including human rights barristers Amal Clooney and Julian Assange’s legal counsel Jennifer Robinson. He was knighted for his role in leading the UK Crown Prosecution Service, and is the first knight of the realm to become the country’s leader in more than 60-years.
The new PM has been notoriously private about his personal life and was stubbornly resistant to revealing flashes of his personality during the election campaign, telling a Guardian interviewer that he couldn’t remember any of his dreams, did not have a favourite novel and had no childhood fears. He and wife Victoria, who is a former solicitor who has been working in occupational health, have two teenage children they strive to keep out of the public eye.
Now he will be in the public eye almost every day. The new Prime Minister has pledged to use the second-biggest majority of any government since World War II — 412 out of 650 seats — to rebuild the country, saying he wants to take the heat out of politics after years of upheaval and strife.
On his first day as the nation’s leader, he warned that any improvements would take time, and he would need to first rebuild faith in politics. “This lack of trust can only be healed by actions, not words. I know that. Whether you voted Labour or not, in fact, especially if you did not, I say to you directly: My government will serve you. Politics can be a force for good. We will show that.”
Sir Keir and his wife were greeted by huge cheers when they arrived at their new official residence at 10 Downing Street in scenes reminiscent of when his Labour predecessor Tony Blair was first elected to government in 1997.
One of his first tasks was to appoint his ministerial team with Angela Rayner to serve as his deputy and Rachel Reeves taking over as Treasury Secretary, becoming the first woman to hold the title of Chancellor of the Exchequer. The former Bank of England economist faces the daunting task of delivering Labour’s promise to get the economy growing and invest in public services while working with a large national debt.
David Lammy has been named Foreign Secretary, while Yvette Cooper is the Home Secretary, looking after key issues including immigration and policing. John Healey was named the Defence Secretary.
Within hours of moving into his new home, Sir Keir Starmer had held a flurry of phone calls with leaders, including reaffirming London’s “unwavering” support for Kyiv’s war against invading Russian forces with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy, US President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. He also spoke to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the prime ministers of Canada, Italy, Ireland and Poland, as well as the heads of the UK’s devolved governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The Labour Manifesto, a document outlining the party’s policy priorities, lists five main goals for the political group. This includes kickstarting economic growth; advancing clean energy; reducing violent crime; reforming education; and improving and investing in the ailing National Health Service. Proposals include lowering the voting age to 16, nationalising passenger railways, repairing an additional million potholes in England, constructing new prisons, building 1.5 million new homes, advocating for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and cancelling the Rwanda deportation scheme.
Earlier, a sombre outgoing PM Rishi Sunak conceded defeat, taking full responsibility and saying “sorry” to the public while announcing he would step down as Tory leader.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
