Who Is Keir Starmer? Labour Party Leader, Son Of Toolmaker, To Replace Rishi Sunak As UK's Prime Minister

Keir Starmer is poised to become the UK's next Prime Minister following Labour's overwhelming victory in the 2024 General Elections, dealing a severe blow to Rishi Sunak's Conservative party.

Labour Party’s Prime Ministerial candidate Keir Starmer with wife Victoria (Picture source: AP)

UK Elections Results 2024: Keir Starmer (61) is set to lead the United Kingdom as the next Prime Minister. His Labour Party has achieved a landslide victory in the General Elections 2024 after dealing a severe blow to Rishi Sunak's Conservative party. With 335 seats, the Labour Party has surged well ahead of the magical figure of 326 seats required for a majority. The incumbent Conservative Party has managed to clinch 72 seats so far. However, these election results are not surprising because after the general elections held in the UK on Thursday (July 4), BBC, ITV, and Sky's exit polls had already predicted a big win for the Labour Party.  

Who is Keir Starmer? 

Labour leader Starmer often describes himself as a person from a 'working-class background.' His father was a toolmaker and his mother worked as a nurse. Starmer's mother suffered from a rare autoimmune condition that eventually left her unable to speak or walk. 

He attended Reigate Grammar School, which became a private school two years after his admission. Until the age of 16, his fees were paid by the local council. 

According to a BBC report, Starmer is the first one in his family to go for university level education. He studied law at Leeds and later at Oxford. In 1987, he became a barrister and specialised in human rights law. His work took him to the Caribbean and Africa, where he defended prisoners facing the death penalty. 

At the end of the 1990s, he offered purported MacLibel workers his services for free. These people were dealing with legal challenges after distributing pamphlets about environmental claims related to fast food giant McDonald's. 

In 2008, he was appointed Senior Crown Prosecutor for England and Wales, Director of Public Prosecutions. 

Keir Starmer’s Political Journey 

In 2015, he became a Member of Parliament for Holborn and St Pancras in North London. He worked as Shadow Brexit Secretary in former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn's frontbench team. During this time, he advocated for consideration of another European Union referendum. 

After Labour's heavy defeat in the 2019 general election, Starmer stood for the party leader position. He won this contest in April 2020. In his victory speech, he promised to take Labour into 'a new era with confidence and hope.'