Sir Keir Rodney Starmer (; born 2 September 1962) is a British politician and barrister who has served as
Leader of the Opposition
The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...
and
Leader of the Labour Party since 2020. He has been
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
(MP) for
Holborn and St Pancras
Holborn and St Pancras () is a parliamentary constituency in Greater London that was created in 1983. It has been represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom since 2015 by Sir Keir Starmer, the current Leade ...
since 2015. He was previously
Director of Public Prosecutions
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is the office or official charged with the prosecution of criminal offences in several criminal jurisdictions around the world. The title is used mainly in jurisdictions that are or have been members o ...
from 2008 to 2013. Ideologically, Starmer has been described as being on the
soft left within the
Labour Party.
Starmer was born in London and raised in
Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
, where he attended the selective state
Reigate Grammar School, which became an
independent school
An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British Eng ...
while he was a student. He graduated with a
Bachelor of Laws
Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...
degree from the
University of Leeds
, mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased
, established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds
, ...
in 1985 and gained a postgraduate
Bachelor of Civil Law degree at
St Edmund Hall
St Edmund Hall (sometimes known as The Hall or informally as Teddy Hall) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. The college claims to be "the oldest surviving academic society to house and educate undergraduates in any university ...
at the
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
in 1986. After being called to the
Bar
Bar or BAR may refer to:
Food and drink
* Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages
* Candy bar
* Chocolate bar
Science and technology
* Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment
* Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud
* Bar (u ...
, Starmer practised predominantly in criminal defence work, with a particular interest in human rights issues. He was a member of
Doughty Street Chambers. He was appointed as
Queen's Counsel
In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...
(QC) in 2002. In 2008, he became Director of Public Prosecutions and Head of the
Crown Prosecution Service, holding these roles until 2013. On conclusion of his five-year term as DPP, he was appointed
Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...
(KCB) in the
2014 New Year Honours
The New Year Honours 2014 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrati ...
.
Elected to the
House of Commons at the
2015 general election, Starmer became
Shadow Minister for Immigration
The frontbench of His Majesty's Loyal Opposition in the Parliament of the United Kingdom consists of the Shadow Cabinet and other official shadow ministers of the political party currently serving as the Official Opposition. The Opposition front ...
in September 2015, before being appointed in October 2016 as
Shadow Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union following the
EU membership referendum. Starmer advocated a
second referendum on Brexit, saying he would have voted for "
Remain
Remain may refer to:
* ''Remain'' (José González EP)
* ''Remain'' (KNK EP)
*''Remain'', poetry book by Jennifer Murphy, 2005
*''Remain'', album by Tyrone Wells, 2009
*''Remain'', album by Great Divide, 2002
*''Remain'', album by Them Are Us Too ...
". After
Jeremy Corbyn
Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party from 2015 to 2020. On the political left of the Labour Party, Corbyn describes himself as a socialist ...
resigned following Labour's defeat at the
2019 general election, Starmer won the
2020 Labour Party leadership election in April.
Starmer's tenure as leader has been marked by his opposition to some of the
government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and various other issues involving the government, including
Partygate. Since his election as leader, his party suffered the loss of a previously Labour seat in the
2021 Hartlepool by-election
A by-election for the House of Commons constituency of Hartlepool in the former county of Cleveland, England, was held on 6 May 2021. The by-election was triggered following the resignation of Labour Member of Parliament (MP) Mike Hill, who re ...
, followed by holds in the
2021 Batley and Spen by-election
A by-election was held in the UK parliamentary constituency of Batley and Spen on 1 July 2021, following the resignation of the previous Member of Parliament (MP) Tracy Brabin, who was elected Mayor of West Yorkshire on 10 May. Under the devolu ...
and the
2022 Birmingham Erdington by-election
A by-election for the United Kingdom parliamentary constituency of Birmingham Erdington was held on 3 March 2022. It was triggered by the death of the Labour Member of Parliament (MP) Jack Dromey on 7 January. The winner was Paulette Hamilton, st ...
, and a gain from the
Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
in the
2022 Wakefield by-election
A by-election for the United Kingdom parliamentary constituency of Wakefield was held on 23 June 2022. It was triggered by the resignation, on 3 May 2022, of Member of Parliament (MP) Imran Ahmad Khan, who was elected as a Conservative at the 2 ...
. Labour received mixed results in the
2021 local elections, followed by gains in the
2022 local elections
This local electoral calendar for 2022 lists the subnational elections held in 2022. Referendums, Recall election, recall and retention elections, and national By-election, by-elections (special elections) are also included.
January
*9 January: ...
. Amid the unpopularity of the Conservative Party throughout 2022, Labour have gained a major lead in
opinion polling for the next general election.
Early life and education
Starmer was born in
Southwark
Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...
, London, on 2 September 1962.
He grew up in the small town of
Oxted
Oxted is a town and civil parish in the Tandridge district of Surrey, England, at the foot of the North Downs. It is south south-east of Croydon in Greater London, west of Sevenoaks in Kent, and north of East Grinstead in West Sussex.
Oxte ...
in Surrey.
He was the second of the four children of Josephine (), a nurse, and Rodney Starmer, a
toolmaker.
His mother had
Still's disease.
His parents were
Labour Party supporters, and named him after the party's first parliamentary leader,
Keir Hardie.
He passed the
11-plus
The eleven-plus (11+) is a Test (assessment), standardized examination administered to some students in England and Northern Ireland in their last year of primary education, which governs admission to grammar schools and other secondary schools ...
examination and gained entry to
Reigate Grammar School, then a
voluntary aided
A voluntary aided school (VA school) is a state-funded school in England and Wales in which a foundation (charity), foundation or Charitable trust, trust (usually a religious organisation), contributes to building costs and has a substantial influ ...
selective grammar school.
It was converted into an independent fee-paying school in 1976, while he was a student, although he was exempt from paying fees. Among his classmates were the musician
Norman Cook, alongside whom Starmer took violin lessons,
Andrew Cooper
Andrew Dollman Cooper (born 23 December 1964) is a former Australian Olympic Champion and World Champion rower. He is a national champion, dual Olympian and two-time World Champion who achieved success as a member of Australia's "Oarsome Four ...
, who went on to become a Conservative peer, as well as future conservative journalist
Andrew Sullivan
Andrew Michael Sullivan (born 10 August 1963) is a British-American author, editor, and blogger. Sullivan is a political commentator, a former editor of ''The New Republic'', and the author or editor of six books. He started a political blog, ' ...
; according to Starmer, he and Sullivan "fought over everything ... Politics, religion. You name it."
In his teenage years, Starmer was active in Labour politics; he was a member of the
Labour Party Young Socialists in
East Surrey
East Surrey is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2019 by Claire Coutinho, a Conservative. The seat covers an affluent area in the English county of Surrey.
Since its creation in 1918, East Surrey has e ...
.
He was a junior exhibitioner at the
Guildhall School of Music and Drama until the age of 18, and played the flute, piano, recorder and violin. Starmer studied law at the
University of Leeds
, mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased
, established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds
, ...
, graduating with
first class honours and a
Bachelor of Laws
Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...
(LLB) degree in 1985, becoming the first member of his family to graduate.
He undertook
postgraduate studies at
St Edmund Hall, Oxford, graduating from the
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
as a
Bachelor of Civil Law (BCL) in 1986.
From 1986 to 1987, Starmer edited the radical magazine ''
Socialist Alternatives''.
Legal career
Barrister
Starmer became a
barrister
A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...
in 1987 at the
Middle Temple
The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...
, becoming a
bencher there in 2009.
He served as a legal officer for the campaign group
Liberty
Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom.
In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...
until 1990.
He was a member of
Doughty Street Chambers from 1990 onwards, primarily working on human rights issues.
He has been called to the bar
The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...
in several Caribbean
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
countries, where he has defended convicts sentenced to the death penalty. He assisted Helen Steel
Helen Steel (born 1965) is an environmental and social justice activist
who is known for her involvement in the McLibel case, an English lawsuit for libel filed by McDonald's Corporation that lasted for 10 years and was eventually taken to the Eur ...
and David Morris in the McLibel case, in the trial and appeal in English courts, also represented them at the European court. The case was seen as a David and Goliath case; a large team of leading lawyers represented McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechri ...
and the legal bills were estimated at £10m. By contrast Steel and Morris were denied legal aid, they acted on their own with help from lawyers including Starmer.
Starmer was appointed Queen's Counsel
In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...
on 9 April 2002, aged 39. In the same year, he became joint head of Doughty Street Chambers. Starmer served as a human rights adviser to the Northern Ireland Policing Board and the Association of Chief Police Officers, and was also a member of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, department of the Government of the United Kingdom. Equivalent to other countries' Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ministries of fore ...
's death penalty advisory panel from 2002 to 2008. He later cited his work on policing in Northern Ireland as being a key influence on his decision to pursue a political career: "Some of the things I thought that needed to change in police services we achieved more quickly than we achieved in strategic litigation ... I came better to understand how you can change by being inside and getting the trust of people". During this time he also marched and authored legal opinions against the Iraq War
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish)
, partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...
. In 2007, he was named "QC of the Year" by Chambers and Partners.
Director of Public Prosecutions
In July 2008, Baroness Scotland of Asthal
Patricia Janet Scotland, Baroness Scotland of Asthal, (born 19 August 1955), is a British diplomat, barrister and politician, serving as the sixth secretary-general of the Commonwealth of Nations. She was elected at the 2015 Commonwealth Heads ...
, Attorney General for England and Wales, named Starmer as the new head of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and Director of Public Prosecutions
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is the office or official charged with the prosecution of criminal offences in several criminal jurisdictions around the world. The title is used mainly in jurisdictions that are or have been members o ...
. He took over from Ken Macdonald
Kenneth Donald John Macdonald, Baron Macdonald of River Glaven, (born 4 January 1953) is a British lawyer and politician who served as Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) of England and Wales from 2003 to 2008. In that office he was head of ...
on 1 November 2008. Macdonald, himself a former defence lawyer, publicly welcomed the appointment. Starmer was considered to be bringing a focus on human rights into the legal system.
Within the first few months of his tenure, Starmer upheld the decision not to prosecute the police officers who had killed Jean Charles de Menezes
Jean may refer to:
People
* Jean (female given name)
* Jean (male given name)
* Jean (surname)
Fictional characters
* Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character
* Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations
* Jean ...
in a UK High Court
The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Courts of England and Wales, Senior Cou ...
appeal lodged by the family. The family then gave up on pursuing charges and nobody has been charged with the death of de Menezes. Later in 2009, when the Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
proposed repealing the Human Rights Act 1998
The Human Rights Act 1998 (c. 42) is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom which received royal assent on 9 November 1998, and came into force on 2 October 2000. Its aim was to incorporate into UK law the rights contained in the European Con ...
, Starmer defended it as a "clear and basic statement of our citizens' human rights". Liberty and the Liberal Democrats supported Starmer, while the Conservative MP David T. C. Davies
David Thomas Charles Davies (born 27 July 1970) is a British politician who has served as Secretary of State for Wales since 2022 and the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Monmouth (UK Parliament constituency) ...
suggested that he should be sacked. In the same year, he called for the CPS to modernise by being more open to scrutiny and less reliant on paper files. In 2011, he introduced reforms that included the "first test paperless hearing".
In February 2010, Starmer announced the CPS's decision to prosecute three Labour MPs and a Conservative peer for offences relating to false accounting in the aftermath of the parliamentary expenses scandal. They were all found guilty. In the same year, he supported proposals to legally recognise different degrees of murder. In 2010, and 2012, Starmer said that there was insufficient evidence to prosecute two members of the UK security services for their alleged role in torture overseas; he supported further investigation. In July 2010, Starmer announced the decision not to prosecute the police officer Simon Harwood in relation to the death of Ian Tomlinson
Ian Tomlinson (7 February 1962 – 1 April 2009) was a newspaper vendor who collapsed and died in the City of London after being struck by a police officer during the 2009 G-20 summit protests. After an inquest jury returned a verdict of ...
; this led to accusations by Tomlinson's family of a police cover-up. After a subsequent inquest found that Tomlinson had been unlawfully killed, Starmer announced that Harwood would be prosecuted for manslaughter. The officer was acquitted by a jury in July 2012 but dismissed from the police that September. In December 2010, Starmer changed the decision process, including requiring his personal approval, to prosecute women who withdraw accusations of rape after a woman was convicted for perverting the course of justice "despite judges' belief that her claim of long-term abuse, intimidation and rape at the hands of her husband was true". He later produced guidelines to prevent women in similar circumstances from being unfairly prosecuted. In 2011, thirteen serving and former police officers were prosecuted for perverting the course of justice in the 1988 murder of Lynette White. The prosecution were unable to provide documents which "could have helped" the defendants, that were claimed to have been destroyed by the police officer leading the case against them. The prosecution made the decision, approved by Starmer, not to offer any further evidence, and the trial collapsed. Starmer ordered a review into the circumstances that had led to the decision and ordered a further review in 2012 when the missing documents were found.
During the 2011 England riots
The 2011 England riots, more widely known as the London riots, were a series of riots between 6 and 11 August 2011. Thousands of people rioted in cities and towns across England, which saw looting, arson, as well as mass deployment of police ...
, Starmer prioritised rapid prosecutions of rioters over long sentences, which he later thought had helped to bring "the situation back under control". Later that year, after revelations concerning the undercover police infiltration of environmental campaigns, Starmer ordered a review of related convictions and invited protestors convicted of aggravated trespass to appeal their sentences. Starmer declined to authorise a wider enquiry, after a report from the judge Christopher Rose found the issue to be a result of individual fault rather than a systemic problem.
In February 2012, Starmer announced that Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change
Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change was a British government cabinet position from 2008 to 2016. The Department of Energy and Climate Change was created on 3 October 2008 when then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown ...
, Chris Huhne
Christopher Murray Paul-Huhne (born 2 July 1954), known as Chris Huhne, is a British energy and climate change consultant and former journalist and politician who was the Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Eastleigh from 2005 to 2013 an ...
, and his former wife, Vicky Pryce
Vasiliki "Vicky" Pryce (' Kourmouzi ( el, Βασιλική Κουρμούζη); born 15 July 1952) is a Greek-born British economist and a former Joint Head of the United Kingdom's Government Economic Service.
She is currently the Chief Econom ...
, would be prosecuted for perverting the course of justice in ''R v Huhne
''Regina v Christopher Huhne and Vasiliki Pryce'' is the prosecution of the former British Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Chris Huhne MP, and his former wife, Vicky Pryce, the former Head of the Government Economic Service, for ...
''. Huhne became the first UK cabinet
The Cabinet of the United Kingdom is the senior decision-making body of His Majesty's Government. A committee of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom, Privy Council, it is chaired by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, prime minister a ...
minister in history to be compelled to resign as a result of criminal proceedings. Starmer had previously said in relation to the case that there is sufficient evidence we do not shy away from prosecuting politicians". Later that year, he wrote advice for prosecutors, saying that they should consider whether violent protestors organised or prepared for violence, compared to protestors who got "caught up in illegal actions". In the summer of 2012, journalist Nick Cohen published allegations that Starmer was personally responsible for allowing to proceed the prosecution of Paul Chambers in what became known as the " Twitter joke trial". Chambers' conviction of sending a message "of a menacing character" was quashed after a third appeal. The CPS denied that Starmer was behind the decision, saying that it was the responsibility of a Crown Court and was out of Starmer's hands. Later that year, Starmer published a plan for the criminal justice system to better handle cases of female genital mutilation
Female genital mutilation (FGM), also known as female genital cutting, female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and female circumcision, is the ritual cutting or removal of some or all of the external female genitalia. The practice is found ...
; at the time, the offence had never been successfully prosecuted. At the end of 2012, he published guidance on prosecuting cases of grossly offensive posts on social media that called for caution in prosecuting cases, and considering whether users quickly removed posts or showed remorse.
In 2013, Starmer announced changes to how sexual abuse investigations are handled in the wake of the Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal, including a panel to review historic complaints. In the same year, he published a study showing that false reports of rape were rare, saying that the "devastating impact of false allegations" and the perception that they are more common than the data support mean that police forces might adopt what he called a cautious approach that can "lead to injustice for victims" of rape. He also started an inquiry into the cause of a reduction in police reports of rape and domestic abuse. In the same year, he altered guidelines for those improperly claiming benefits enabling them to face ten years in prison under the Fraud Act instead of a maximum of seven years under more specific legislation.
Starmer left office in November 2013, and was replaced by Alison Saunders
Dame Alison Margaret Saunders, ( Brown; born 14 February 1961) is a British barrister and a former Director of Public Prosecutions. She was the first lawyer from within the Crown Prosecution Service and the second woman to hold the appointment. ...
. Later that month, the Labour Party announced that Starmer would lead an enquiry into changing the law to give further protection to victims in cases of rape and child abuse. On 28 December, he said to BBC News
BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...
he was "rather enjoying having some free time" and "considering a number of options". There was speculation at the time that he would stand as a Labour Party candidate for the UK Parliament
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative supremac ...
.
Early political career
Member of Parliament
Starmer was selected in December 2014 to be the Labour Party's prospective parliamentary candidate for the Labour UK constituency
In the United Kingdom (UK), each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one member to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons.
Within the United Kingdom there are five bodies with members elected by ...
of Holborn and St Pancras
Holborn and St Pancras () is a parliamentary constituency in Greater London that was created in 1983. It has been represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom since 2015 by Sir Keir Starmer, the current Leade ...
, a safe seat
A safe seat is an electoral district (constituency) in a legislative body (e.g. Congress, Parliament, City Council) which is regarded as fully secure, for either a certain political party, or the incumbent representative personally or a combinat ...
, following the decision of the sitting MP Frank Dobson
Frank Gordon Dobson (15 March 1940 – 11 November 2019) was a British Labour Party politician. As Member of Parliament (MP) for Holborn and St. Pancras from 1979 to 2015, he served in the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Health from 1997 ...
to retire. Starmer was elected at the 2015 UK general election
The 2015 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday, 7 May 2015 to elect 650 members to the House of Commons. It was the first and only general election held at the end of a Parliament under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011. Local ...
with a majority of 17,048. He was urged by a number of activists to stand in the 2015 Labour Party leadership election following the resignation of Ed Miliband
Edward Samuel "Ed" Miliband (born 24 December 1969) is a British politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Climate Change and Net Zero since 2021. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Doncaster North since 2005. Miliband ...
; he ruled this out, citing his relative lack of political experience. During the campaign, Starmer supported Andy Burnham
Andrew Murray Burnham (born 7 January 1970) is a British politician who has served as Mayor of Greater Manchester since 2017. He served in Gordon Brown's Cabinet as Chief Secretary to the Treasury from 2007 to 2008, Culture Secretary from 2008 ...
, who finished second to Jeremy Corbyn
Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party from 2015 to 2020. On the political left of the Labour Party, Corbyn describes himself as a socialist ...
, the new Leader of the Labour Party .
Corbyn appointed Starmer to the Shadow Home Secretary ministerial team as Shadow Minister for Immigration
The frontbench of His Majesty's Loyal Opposition in the Parliament of the United Kingdom consists of the Shadow Cabinet and other official shadow ministers of the political party currently serving as the Official Opposition. The Opposition front ...
, a role from which he resigned as part of the wide June 2016 British shadow cabinet resignations
On 26–29 June 2016, 21 members of the Shadow Cabinet resigned from the frontbench. Following the Leave result in the referendum on Britain's membership of the European Union, Jeremy Corbyn faced heavy criticism for the perceived reluctance of ...
in protest at Corbyn's leadership, along with several other Labour MPs saying that it was "simply untenable now to suggest we can offer an effective opposition without a change of leader".
Shadow Brexit Secretary
Following Corbyn's win in the 2016 Labour Party leadership election in September, Starmer accepted an appointment as Shadow Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, replacing Emily Thornberry who had held the role concurrently with her continuing position as Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
In UK politics, the Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs is a position within the opposition's shadow cabinet that deals mainly with issues surrounding the Foreign Office. If elected, the person serving as ...
. On taking up the role, Starmer resigned from a consultancy position with the law firm specialising in human rights, Mishcon de Reya, that had acted for Gina Miller in bringing legal proceedings against the government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
in '' R (Miller) v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union''.
In his role as Shadow Brexit Secretary, Starmer questioned the government's destination for the UK outside of the European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
(EU), as well as calling for Brexit
Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or ...
plans to be made public. On 6 December 2016, the prime minister Theresa May
Theresa Mary May, Lady May (; née Brasier; born 1 October 1956) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served in David Cameron's cab ...
confirmed the publication of Brexit plans, in what some considered a victory for Starmer. He argued that the government would be need to pass a large number of new laws quickly, or risk what he called an "unsustainable legal vacuum", if Britain left the EU without a deal. At the 2018 Labour Party Conference
The Labour Party Conference is the annual conference of the British Labour Party. It is formally the supreme decision-making body of the party and is traditionally held in the final week of September, during the party conference season when the ...
on 25 September, Starmer advocated for a referendum on the Brexit withdrawal agreement
A referendum on the Brexit withdrawal agreement, also referred to as a "second referendum", a "rerun", a "people's vote", or a "confirmatory public vote", was proposed by a number of politicians and pressure groups as a way to break the deadlock ...
, saying that the party "campaigning for a public vote must be an option".
In January 2017, Starmer called for a reform to the EU free movement rules
The freedom of movement for workers is a policy chapter of the acquis communautaire of the European Union. The free movement of workers means that nationals of any member state of the European Union can take up an employment in another member stat ...
following Brexit and for a "fundamental rethink of immigration rules from start to finish". In his first interview after being appointed to the shadow cabinet, Starmer said that immigration should be reduced after Britain left the EU by "making sure we have the skills in this country". Starmer had told ''Politico
''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American, German-owned political journalism newspaper company based in Arlington County, Virginia, that covers politics and policy in the United States and intern ...
'' in November 2016 that negotiations with the EU should start on the understanding that there must be "some change" to freedom of movement rules, given that remaining in the EU single market is no longer a reality.
In May 2017, Starmer said that "free movement has to go" but that it was important to allow EU citizens to migrate to the UK once they had a job offer, given the importance of immigration for the UK's economy. Starmer was a supporter of a second referendum on Brexit. This position was included as a Labour Party policy in the party's 2019 UK general election manifesto.
Leadership of the Labour Party
Leadership election
Following Labour's defeat at the 2019 general election, Corbyn announced that he would stand down as Leader of the Labour Party. Starmer announced his candidacy in the ensuing leadership election on 4 January 2020, winning endorsements from MPs, as well as from the trade union Unison. Supporters of Rebecca Long-Bailey criticised Starmer for releasing details of his campaign donations on the register of members' interests rather than independently, as Long-Bailey and Lisa Nandy
Lisa Eva Nandy (born 9 August 1979) is a British politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities since 2021. A member of the Labour Party, she has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Wigan since 2010.
N ...
had done, which meant that details of his donors were not published until after voting had opened.
Starmer went on to win the leadership contest on 4 April 2020, beating Long-Bailey and Nandy, with 56.2% of the vote in the first round, and became Leader of the Opposition
The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...
. In his acceptance speech, Starmer said he would refrain from "scoring party political points" and planned to "engage constructively with the government", having become opposition leader amid the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
.
As the Leader of the Opposition
The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...
, Starter has had a weekly slot at Prime Minister's Questions which he has used to quiz Conservative Prime Ministers Boris Johnson
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...
, Liz Truss
Mary Elizabeth Truss (born 26 July 1975) is a British politician who briefly served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from September to October 2022. On her fiftieth day in office, she stepped down ...
, and Rishi Sunak
Rishi Sunak (; born 12 May 1980) is a British politician who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party since October 2022. He previously held two Cabinet of ...
on the issues of the day.
Tenure
During the 2020 April pandemic lockdown, Starmer called for the government to publish an exit strategy outlining which parts of the economy and society would be prioritised once the government's tests for coming out of lockdown were met. He said that the government had been "too slow to enter the lockdown", and called for an exit plan in a "careful, considered way with public health, scientific evidence and the safety of workers and families". In June 2020, Starmer said he would support the government in "trying to do the right thing" when scrutinising the government's plans to ease lockdown restrictions. On 16 August, he called for the government to reopen schools in September 2020, saying there were "no ifs, no buts, no equivocation" regarding the decision.
Starmer made his first speech to the Labour Party Conference on 22 September 2020. He attacked the government's handling of the COVID-19 crisis, calling it "serial incompetence" and suggesting that Prime Minister Boris Johnson
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...
was "just not up to the job". Labour unveiled "A New Leadership" as its slogan the day before the conference. In October 2020, Starmer called for the government to introduce a "circuit-breaker" stay-at-home order for at least two weeks to reduce the impact of COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
over the winter, which had been revealed to have been recommended by the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies
The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) is a British Government body that advises central government in emergencies. It is usually chaired by the United Kingdom's Chief Scientific Adviser, currently Sir Patrick Vallance. Specialis ...
but not implemented by the government. In December 2020, Starmer was criticised for failing to challenge white nationalist, Great Replacement conspiracy theories made by a caller when he was a guest on Nick Ferrari
Nicolo Ferrari (born 31 January 1959) is a British host, television presenter and broadcast journalist.
He is best known as the host of the weekday breakfast show on the London-based radio station LBC, with 1.5 million weekly listeners. He al ...
's programme on talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featur ...
station LBC
LBC (originally the London Broadcasting Company) is a British phone-in and talk radio station owned and operated by Global and based in its headquarters in London. It was the UK's first licensed commercial radio station, and began to broadcast ...
.
Election results
Starmer led the Labour Party into the 2021 local elections. On 11 March, Starmer launched Labour's local election campaign, with Angela Rayner (Deputy Leader), Sadiq Khan ( Mayor of London), Mark Drakeford
Mark Drakeford (born 19 September 1954) is a Welsh politician serving as First Minister of Wales and Leader of Welsh Labour since 2018. He previously served in the Welsh Government as Cabinet Secretary for Finance from 2016 to 2018 and Minist ...
(First Minister of Wales
, insignia = First Minister of Wales logo.png
, insigniasize = 120px
, insigniacaption = Logo
, flag = Flag of Wales.svg
, flagsize = 120px
, flagborder = yes
, flagcaption = Flag of Wales
, image = File:Mark Drakeford (cropped).jpg
, ...
), Anas Sarwar (Scottish Labour
Scottish Labour ( gd, Pàrtaidh Làbarach na h-Alba, sco, Scots Labour Pairty; officially the Scottish Labour Party) is a social democratic political party in Scotland. It is an autonomous section of the UK Labour Party. From their peak of ...
leader), and Tracy Brabin
Tracy Lynn Brabin (born 9 May 1961) is a British politician who has served as the first Mayor of West Yorkshire since the office was established on 10 May 2021. She previously was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Batley and Spen from 2016 to 2 ...
(Mayor of West Yorkshire
The Mayor of West Yorkshire is a directly elected mayor responsible for the metropolitan county of West Yorkshire in England. The Mayor chairs and leads the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, and assumes the office and powers of the West Yorks ...
candidate) as speakers. The party focused its election priorities on giving nurses a pay rise. This was during a period of popularity for the Second Johnson ministry
The second Johnson ministry began on 16 December 2019, three days after Boris Johnson's audience with Queen Elizabeth II where she invited him to form a new administration following the 2019 general election, in which the Conservative Party w ...
in the wake of the COVID-19 vaccination in the United Kingdom
The COVID-19 vaccination programme in the United Kingdom is an ongoing mass immunisation campaign for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom.
Vaccinations began on 8 December 2020 after Marga ...
; into the short campaign period, the Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
started to develop a 6–7% poll lead on the Labour Party.
Starmer was criticised for the Labour Party's failure to win the 2021 Hartlepool by-election
A by-election for the House of Commons constituency of Hartlepool in the former county of Cleveland, England, was held on 6 May 2021. The by-election was triggered following the resignation of Labour Member of Parliament (MP) Mike Hill, who re ...
. Hartlepool
Hartlepool () is a seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is the largest settlement and administrative centre of the Borough of Hartlepool. With an estimated population of 90,123, it is the second-largest settlement in County ...
is part of the " red wall", a set of constituencies that historically supported the Labour Party but where the party is being challenged by increasing Conservative support. The Labour Party candidate Paul Williams was a vocal advocate of a second referendum on EU membership; 70% of voters in the constituency of Hartlepool had voted to leave the EU, leading to criticism that Starmer had made the wrong decision in advocating for Williams to be selected as the candidate. The Conservative candidate Jill Mortimer
Jillian Wendy Mortimer (née Sowerby; born 20 March 1965) is a British Conservative Party politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Hartlepool since 2021.
Personal life
Mortimer was born Jillian Wendy Sowerby on 20 March 1965 in Lee ...
won the by-election with 51.9% of the vote and a swing from Labour of almost 16%. It became only the second time since 1982 that the governing party gained a seat in a by-election, and the first Conservative win in the constituency since its creation in 1974, with a majority of 6,940 votes.
At the local elections on 6 May 2021, the Labour Party lost 327 councillors and control of 8 councils. While it gained control of Mayor of the West of England
The Mayor of the West of England is the directly elected mayor responsible for the strategic government of the West of England, including planning, transport and skills. For this purpose the West of England is defined as the local authority area ...
and Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority
The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority is a combined authority covering the ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire in the East of England. The authority was established on 3 March 2017. The authority is led by the directly elected May ...
, the Labour Party failed to take the position of Mayor of the West Midlands. The party won a net equal number of police and crime commissioners. Elections also took place to the devolved Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyro ...
and Senedd
The Senedd (; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes laws for Wales, agrees certain taxes and scrutinises the Welsh Gove ...
. In the 2021 Senedd election
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
, Labour equalled its best ever result, falling one seat short of an overall majority, which has never been achieved in that institution, which the BBC reporter Adrian Browne credited to Mark Drakeford
Mark Drakeford (born 19 September 1954) is a Welsh politician serving as First Minister of Wales and Leader of Welsh Labour since 2018. He previously served in the Welsh Government as Cabinet Secretary for Finance from 2016 to 2018 and Minist ...
and approval of his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in Wales. In the 2021 Scottish Parliament election
The 2021 Scottish Parliament election took place on 6 May 2021, under the provisions of the Scotland Act 1998. All 129 Members of the Scottish Parliament were elected in the sixth election since the parliament was re-established in 1999. The ele ...
, the party achieved its worst ever result at a Holyrood election, winning just 16 seats two less than in 2016. In July, Labour won the 2021 Batley and Spen by-election
A by-election was held in the UK parliamentary constituency of Batley and Spen on 1 July 2021, following the resignation of the previous Member of Parliament (MP) Tracy Brabin, who was elected Mayor of West Yorkshire on 10 May. Under the devolu ...
and held the seat, a result that was considered to have taken some pressure off Starmer's leadership.
The 2022 local elections on 5 May took place during a more difficult period for the government, which was facing problems such as Partygate and a cost of living crisis. The Labour Party made gains across Great Britain winning by far the largest number of seats overall. Starmer was criticised by many on the British Left
The British left is a range of political parties and movements in the United Kingdom. These can take the position of either centre-left, left-wing, or far-left.
The largest political party associated with the British Left is the Labour Pa ...
, both in and outside of the Labour Party, as many felt that Starmer had underperformed in comparison with smaller parties, which made bigger net gains. Amid the unpopularity of the Conservatives throughout 2022, Labour have gained a major lead in the opinion polling for the next general election. Since the end of 2021, Labour consistently polled ahead of the Conservatives as the government was affected by issues such as the cost of living crisis. By mid-October 2022, Labour were recording polling leads such as 36% against the Conservatives according to Redfield & Wilton.
In December 2022, Labour held both the City of Chester and Stretford and Urmston in by-elections with an increased margin for Labour.
Internal party affairs
In April 2020, the Shadow Cabinet of Starmer was appointed over the course of the week following the leadership election, which included former leader Ed Miliband
Edward Samuel "Ed" Miliband (born 24 December 1969) is a British politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Climate Change and Net Zero since 2021. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Doncaster North since 2005. Miliband ...
, as well as both of the candidates he defeated in the contest. He also appointed Anneliese Dodds as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, making her the first woman to serve in that position in either a ministerial or shadow ministerial position.
On 25 June 2020, Starmer sacked his former leadership rival Rebecca Long-Bailey from her post as Shadow Secretary of State for Education. Long-Bailey had refused to delete a tweet calling the actress Maxine Peake an "absolute diamond" and linking to an interview in ''The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' in which Peake said that the practice of kneeling on someone's neck by US police, as used in the murder of George Floyd
On , George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, was murdered in the U.S. city of Minneapolis by Derek Chauvin, a 44-year-old white police officer. Floyd had been arrested on suspicion of using a counterfeit $20 bill. Chauvin knelt on Floyd's n ...
in Minneapolis
Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
, was "learnt from seminars with Israeli secret services". The original article stated that "the Israeli police has denied this." Starmer said that because the article "contained anti-Semitic conspiracy theories" it should not have been shared by Long-Bailey. The decision to sack Long-Bailey was criticised by the Socialist Campaign Group, whose members met with Starmer about the decision. The decision was welcomed by some Jewish groups including the Board of Deputies
The Board of Deputies of British Jews, commonly referred to as the Board of Deputies, is the largest and second oldest Jewish communal organisation in the United Kingdom, after only the Initiation Society which was founded in 1745. Established ...
and the Jewish Labour Movement. Starmer said that "restoring trust with the Jewish community is a number one priority. Antisemitism takes many different forms and it is important that we all are vigilant against it." On 27 June, he replaced her with Kate Green.
On 23 September 2020, three frontbenchers ( Olivia Blake, Nadia Whittome, and Beth Winter
Bethan Winter (born 4 October 1974) is a Welsh Labour Party politician. She has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Cynon Valley since the 2019 general election. She is a member of the Socialist Campaign Group parliamentary caucus.
Early li ...
) rebelled against Labour's position of abstention on the Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill and voted against the bill; all three lost their frontbench roles over the issue. This move was seen as an indication of the firm discipline Starmer intends to exert over his party. In the third reading of the Covert Human Intelligence Sources (Criminal Conduct) Bill
The Covert Human Intelligence Sources (Criminal Conduct) Act 2021 (c. 4) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The act makes provision for the use of undercover law enforcement agents and covert sources and the committing of crime ...
on 15 October 2020, the Labour Party stance was to abstain yet 34 Labour MPs rebelled, including shadow ministers Dan Carden and Margaret Greenwood, and five parliamentary private secretaries
A Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) is a Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom who acts as an unpaid assistant to a Minister of the Crown, minister or Shadow Minister, shadow minister. They ar ...
who all resigned from their frontbench roles. These 34 were penalised the next day by being put on probation for going against the one-line whip to abstain.
In October 2020, following the release of the Equality and Human Rights Commission
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is a non-departmental public body in Great Britain, established by the Equality Act 2006 with effect from 1 October 2007. The Commission has responsibility for the promotion and enforcement of eq ...
's report into antisemitism in the party, Starmer accepted its findings in full and apologised to Jews on behalf of the party. Later that day, Labour suspended former leader Corbyn over his response to the report. Some saw Starmer's actions as "civil war" against the left wing of the party, and many on the left called for Corbyn's suspension to be lifted. Starmer's refusal to reverse the decision regarding Corbyn's suspension, and later the whip, resulted in sections of the left feeling alienated.
In the aftermath of relatively poor results in the 2021 UK local elections
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
, Starmer carried out a May 2021 British shadow cabinet reshuffle
Keir Starmer, Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom), Leader of the Opposition in the United Kingdom, carried out a reshuffle of Shadow Cabinet of Keir Starmer, his shadow cabinet on 9 May 2021. This followed disappointing results for the L ...
. Starmer sacked Angela Rayner as Chair of the Labour Party
The Chair of the Labour Party is a position in the Labour Party of the United Kingdom. The Chair is responsible for administration of the party and overseeing general election campaigns, and is typically held concurrently with another position ...
and National Campaign Coordinator following the elections. The move was criticised by John McDonnell, former Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Andy Burnham
Andrew Murray Burnham (born 7 January 1970) is a British politician who has served as Mayor of Greater Manchester since 2017. He served in Gordon Brown's Cabinet as Chief Secretary to the Treasury from 2007 to 2008, Culture Secretary from 2008 ...
, Mayor of Greater Manchester. The major outcome of the reshuffle was the demotion of the Shadow Chancellor, Anneliese Dodds. Rachel Reeves was appointed as the new Shadow Chancellor and Angela Rayner succeeded Reeves as Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
The Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is a position in the British Shadow Cabinet, appointed by the Leader of the Opposition. The post involves holding the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster to account, who has control over the esta ...
. Nick Brown
Nicholas Hugh Brown (born 13 June 1950) is a British Independent politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Newcastle upon Tyne East since 1983, making him the fifth longest serving MP in the House of Commons. He is the longes ...
was dismissed as Chief Whip
The Chief Whip is a political leader whose task is to enforce the whipping system, which aims to ensure that legislators who are members of a political party attend and vote on legislation as the party leadership prescribes.
United Kingdom
...
and replaced by his deputy, Alan Campbell. Valerie Vaz
Valerie Carol Marian Vaz (born 7 December 1954) is a British Labour Party politician and solicitor serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Walsall South since 2010. She served as the Shadow Leader of the House of Commons from 2016 to 202 ...
departed as Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The Shadow Leader of the House of Commons is a member of the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet (United Kingdom), Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet responsible for working with the Leader of the House of Commons, Leader of the House in arrangin ...
and was replaced by Thangam Debbonaire
Thangam Elizabeth Rachel Debbonaire (' Singh; born 3 August 1966) is a British Labour Party politician, serving as Shadow Leader of the House of Commons since May 2021. She was previously the Shadow Secretary of State for Housing from 2020 t ...
, who in turn was succeeded as Shadow Secretary of State for Housing
The Shadow Secretary of State for Housing was a position in the United Kingdom's Shadow Cabinet that was created on 7 October 2016 by the Leader of the Opposition, Jeremy Corbyn during a cabinet reshuffle. This position succeeds the position of ...
by Lucy Powell. On 11 May 2021, Starmer's Parliamentary Private Secretary
A Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) is a Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom who acts as an unpaid assistant to a minister or shadow minister. They are selected from backbench MPs as the 'eyes and ears' of the minister in the H ...
(PPS) Carolyn Harris
Carolyn Harris (born 18 September 1960) is a Welsh politician serving as Deputy Leader of Welsh Labour since 2018. She has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Swansea East since 2015.
Harris served as Shadow Minister for Safeguarding and Vul ...
resigned, which ''The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' reported was after allegedly spreading false rumours about the private life of Angela Rayner prior to her sacking. Sharon Hodgson
Sharon Hodgson (born 1 April 1966) is a British Labour Party politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Washington and Sunderland West, previously Gateshead East and Washington West, since 2005.
Hodgson was appointed as the Par ...
was appointed as Starmer's new PPS.
In the run up to Labour's conference in September 2021, the party announced plans to reform its governance structure with changes including the return of its older electoral college which would give MPs, members and trade unions a third of the vote each in future leadership elections. Starmer's spokespeople said that this was a way to strengthen the party's link with the trade union movement but commentators described the changes as an attempt to increase the power of MPs and trade unions at the expense of the general membership, along with being a symbolic act to draw a distinction between Starmer and Corbyn. Starmer gave up on the electoral college after it failed to gain the support of trade unions; the party's executive committee agreed to send a series of more modest reforms to conference, including increasing the percentage of Labour MPs a candidate would need the support of to get on the leadership election ballot, banning the party's newest members from voting, and making it harder for members to deselect MPs. These changes were later passed by a small margin. The Bakers, Food and Allied Workers' Union
The Bakers, Food and Allied Workers' Union (BFAWU) is a trade union in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1847 in Manchester, it represents workers in the food industry.
History
The union dates its origin to 1847. The Manchester Friendly Association ...
voted to end its affiliation to Labour dating back to early in the party's history, commenting that it had "travelled away from the aims and hopes of working-class organisations like ours" under Starmer's leadership.
The November 2021 British shadow cabinet reshuffle, which was considered a surprise, included the promotion of Yvette Cooper and David Lammy
David Lindon Lammy (born 19 July 1972) is an English politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs since 2021. A member of the Labour Party, he has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Tottenh ...
to Shadow Home Secretary and Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, respectively, while Miliband was moved from Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Industrial Strategy
The Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Industrial Strategy is an office within British politics held by a member of His Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition. The duty of the office holder is to scrutinise the actions of the government's Secre ...
to Shadow Secretary of State for Climate Change and Net Zero
The Shadow Secretary of State for Climate Change and Net Zero is a post in the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet. The Shadow Secretary originally helped hold the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change and junior ministers to account ...
. The appointment of Cooper in particular was described by some commentators as a sign of Labour further splitting from the Corbyn leadership and moving to the right. The BBC's Laura Kuenssberg and Robert Peston of ITV News
ITV News is the branding of news programmes on the British television network ITV. ITV has a long tradition of television news. Independent Television News (ITN) was founded to provide news bulletins for the network in 1955, and has since conti ...
said that the reshuffle aimed to "combine experience and youth" and end "the fatuous project of trying to ... placate Labour's warring factions", and instead chose "shadow ministers for their perceived ability". In the ''New Statesman
The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members ...
'', journalist Stephen Bush suggested that Starmer had "removed underperforming shadow cabinet ministers and rewarded his biggest hitters – but the resulting shadow cabinet looks to be less than the sum of its parts."
Shortly before the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...
in February, 11 Labour backbench MPs signed a letter by the Stop the War Coalition that accused the UK government of "sabre-rattling" and said that NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
"should call a halt to its eastward expansion and commit to a new security deal for Europe which meets the needs of all states and peoples", whilst also arguing that NATO was an aggressive organisation due to military actions taken by its members outside its borders in the past. The MPs were asked by the party whips, representatives of the leadership tasked with maintaining discipline among Labour MPs, to remove their names from the statement under threat of being expelled from the party and all quickly agreed to do so. A spokesperson for the Labour Party said that this action ensured that every Labour MP understood that their party was on the side of "Britain, Nato, freedom and democracy". At around this time, Young Labour's Twitter account was suspended after it criticised the leadership policy towards NATO. In an interview with the BBC in March 2022, Starmer was asked whether he would be hoping that MPs who backed Stop the War "won't be standing at the next election or if they do whether e would
E, or e, is the fifth letter and the second vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''e'' (pronounced ); plura ...
be fully supporting them to do so". After repeatedly being accused of not answering the question, Starmer gave the answer of "well, they are Labour MPs and of course I support them, but all of our MPs will go through a process for selection into the next election".
The summer of 2022 saw significant amounts of industrial unrest. Starmer instructed members of his shadow cabinet to refrain from joining picketlines
Picketing is a form of protest in which people (called pickets or picketers) congregate outside a place of work or location where an event is taking place. Often, this is done in an attempt to dissuade others from going in ("Strikebreaker, cro ...
; some Labour MPs appeared on picket-lines including frontbenchers Kate Osborne
Kate Helen Osborne (born 18 June 1966) is a British Labour Party politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Jarrow since 2019.
Career
Osborne worked for Royal Mail for 25 years. Her first foray into politics came in 2009, w ...
, Paula Barker, Peter Kyle, and Navendu Mishra
Navendu Prabhat Mishra (born 22 August 1989) is a British
Labour Party politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Stockport since 2019.
Early life
He is of Indian ancestry; his mother is from Gorakhpur and his father is fr ...
. The Labour Party's contingents in the Scottish and Welsh parliaments also took a different approach. Sam Tarry
Samuel Peter Tarry (; born 27 August 1982) is a British politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ilford South since 2019. He is a member of the Socialist Campaign Group parliamentary caucus. On 11 October 2022 he was deselected ...
, Shadow Minister for Buses and Local Transport, was sacked on 27 July after appearing on a rail strike picket. He said in a TV interview that workers should receive a pay rise in line with inflation though Labour policy was that pay increases should be based on negotiation. A spokesperson for the party said that "Sam Tarry was sacked because he booked himself onto media programmes without permission and then made up policy on the hoof." His sacking was criticised by trade union leaders and Tarry wrote in an opinion piece for the '' I'' that "failing to join the striking rail workers on a picket line would have been an abject dereliction of duty for me as a Labour MP."
On 17 July 2022, the Forde Report
Allegations of antisemitism in the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party of the United Kingdom (UK) have been made since Jeremy Corbyn was elected as leader of the party in September 2015. After comments by Naz Shah in 2014 and Ken Livingstone in 20 ...
was published, having been commissioned by Starmer at the beginning of his leadership. It described how groups within Labour had sought to hinder Corbyn while leader of the Labour Party and said that during his leadership it broke into factions which supported or opposed him, though this factionalism had decreased since Starmer took leadership. The report said that groups within the party who were in support and opposition to Corbyn both sought to use allegations of antisemitism in the party during his leadership to further their political interests. The report detailed bullying, racism, and sexism within the party. The report also said many of those within the party it gathered evidence from were concerned the party operated a "hierarchy of racism or of discrimination", with more resources being allocated to investigate claims of antisemitism, amid their surge and political importance, compared to other forms of discrimination. Starmer was criticised for his lack of response to the report and the problems within the party that it highlighted, in particular anti-black racism. In September 2022, Al Jazeera began publishing ''The Labour Files'', a series of internal Labour Party documents and associated reports on anti-Corbyn corruption during his leadership as well as current anti-black racism and Islamophobia in the Labour Party. Starmer was criticised for failing to acknowledge or address the findings of ''The Labour Files''.
In October and November 2022, Starmer was accused of designing and using Labour's new selection process for parliamentary candidates to prevent Corbyn-supporting, left-wing, or disloyal prospective MPs from being able to stand at the next general election. On 14 November 2022, it was reported that the leadership of the Labour Party would not restore the whip to Corbyn, preventing him from ever again standing for election on behalf of the Labour Party. This led to criticism and speculation Corbyn could stand for election as the Mayor of London or in his current Parlimentary constituency as an independent candidate, in opposition to Labour.
Incident near Parliament
On 2 February 2022, during Prime Minister's Questions, Boris Johnson said that when Starmer was Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), he prosecuted journalists and had failed to prosecute the serial sex offender Jimmy Savile
Sir James Wilson Vincent Savile (; 31 October 1926 – 29 October 2011) was an English DJ, television and radio personality who hosted BBC shows including ''Top of the Pops'' and ''Jim'll Fix It''. During his lifetime, he was well known ...
. Starmer described this as a "ridiculous slur" and Johnson's comment was criticised by the Commons Speaker, Lindsay Hoyle
Sir Lindsay Harvey Hoyle (born 10 June 1957)'HOYLE, Hon. Lindsay (Harvey)', Who's Who 2013, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2013; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2012 ; online edn, Nov 201 Retrieved 31 December 20 ...
. BBC Reality Check says Johnson's unfounded claim had already been discredited. Johnson later said that Starmer personally had "nothing to do" with the failure to prosecute Savile, but that he was "making a point about tarmer'sresponsibility for the organisation as a whole". Johnson received criticism for the comment and his policy adviser, Munira Mirza
Munira Mirza (born May 1978) is a British political advisor who served as Director of the Number 10 Policy Unit under Prime Minister Boris Johnson from 2019 until she resigned on 3 February 2022, citing Johnson's claim that Labour leader Keir Sta ...
, resigned three days later, saying in her resignation letter that Johnson had made "a scurrilous accusation" against Starmer.
On 7 February, while he was leaving Parliament, Starmer was harassed by a group of people, who shouted "traitor" and "Jimmy Savile". Two of the protesters were arrested. Shayan Sardarizadeh for BBC Monitoring said that the protest was an attempt to recreate the Canadian convoy protests
A series of Protests over responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, protests and blockades in Canada against COVID-19 vaccination in Canada#Vaccine mandates, policies and measures, COVID-19 vaccine mandates and restrictions, called the Freedom Conv ...
in the UK, and noted that the activists' references to Magna Carta
(Medieval Latin for "Great Charter of Freedoms"), commonly called (also ''Magna Charta''; "Great Charter"), is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. First drafted by the ...
indicated that the protesters were members of the sovereign citizen movement. A week later it was reported that Starmer had received death threats. MPs, including seven Conservatives, called on Johnson to fully withdraw what Conservative Julian Smith called "false slurs", but Johnson said the actions of the protesters were "absolutely disgraceful" and harassment of elected representatives was "completely unacceptable".
Partygate and Beergate controversy
On 30 April 2021, Starmer was part of a political campaign team for the Hartlepool by-election and local elections in the Durham office of MP Mary Foy. In the evening, a student took a short video through the office window. The next day, '' The Sun'' published pictures from it showing Starmer with a beer while others ate a takeaway, with a Labour statement that they had complied with the rules, including a pause for food. At that time, allowed gatherings when reasonably necessary for work purposes. Starmer and Angela Rayner were cleared by Durham Police of any wrongdoing. The police said they had concluded that the gathering was reasonably necessary for work purposes.
Drop in party membership numbers
Starmer inherited a party membership of 552,835 when he replaced Jeremy Corbyn
Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party from 2015 to 2020. On the political left of the Labour Party, Corbyn describes himself as a socialist ...
as leader in April 2020. By the time of the NEC
is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational information technology and electronics corporation, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. The company was known as the Nippon Electric Company, Limited, before rebranding in 1983 as NEC. It prov ...
vote seven months later, that had dropped by 56,874, more than 10%, to 495,961, but still the largest of any UK party. The drop coincided with a number of challenges Starmer faced due to his relationship with the left of the party, including in response to his suspension of Corbyn from the party, and his removal of Rebecca Long-Bailey from his shadow cabinet. By the end of 2021, membership had fallen to 432,213, a drop of more than 21% since Starmer became leader, but still more than double the membership of the Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
. ''Momentum
In Newtonian mechanics, momentum (more specifically linear momentum or translational momentum) is the product of the mass and velocity of an object. It is a vector quantity, possessing a magnitude and a direction. If is an object's mass an ...
'', a left-wing campaign group, said Starmer's "factional" leadership was to blame as it alienated trade unions. Starmer dismissed this, saying it followed the pattern of membership going up before an election and flattening off again after. According to ''The Guardian'', the future of ''Momentum
In Newtonian mechanics, momentum (more specifically linear momentum or translational momentum) is the product of the mass and velocity of an object. It is a vector quantity, possessing a magnitude and a direction. If is an object's mass an ...
'', a grassroots group of left-wing Labour Party members, is in jeopardy due to financial difficulties as "thousands of leftwingers have deserted the Labour party under Keir Starmer’s leadership".
Breach of code of conduct
In June 2022, Kathryn Stone
Kathryn Elizabeth Stone (born 8 August 1963) was the independent Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards of the British House of Commons from January 2018 until December 2022.
Early life
Kathryn Stone was born in Derby and grew up in Belper. S ...
, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards
The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards is an officer of the British House of Commons. The work of the officer is overseen by the Commons Select Committee on Standards.
The current commissioner is Kathryn Stone.
Duties
The commissioner is i ...
, launched an investigation into Starmer, following complaints that he had been late to register income and hospitality. On 4 August 2022, Starmer was found to have breached the MP's code of conduct 8 times. Stone said the breaches were "minor and/or inadvertent".
Election candidate selection controversy
With the Labour Party needing to gain many new seats if they are to win the next election, and with at least a dozen of their standing MPs planning to stand down before the next election, by early November 2022, the party had started the selection process for the new candidates they will need.
Party members who supported Jeremy Corbyn
Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party from 2015 to 2020. On the political left of the Labour Party, Corbyn describes himself as a socialist ...
, the party's previous leader, are saying that under Starmer's leadership, they are being targeted for exclusion by the selection process. Under the selection system, step one is to get onto a 'longlist', which will then be refined down to a 'shortlist'. BBC News say that unnamed potential candidates have said that party employees are being asked to search their online activities for reasons to keep them off the 'longlist'. One unnamed Labour MP from the left of the party said of the party leadership that they used too much power and that they went further than Blair. The party defended this activity saying it was for quality control purposes. John McTernan
John McTernan (born 1959) is a British political strategist and commentator. He has been a political adviser to the Labour Party.
McTernan was Prime Minister Tony Blair's Director of Political Operations from 2005 to 2007. He then worked on ...
, a former advisor for Tony Blair, supported the activity, saying Labour needs to return "good MPs" with "mainstream Labour values" for the coming election adding that under Corbyn, too many unsuitable people became Labour MPs. A Labour representative said "Due diligence is about" removing "candidates who could cause electoral damage".
On 13 November 2022, ''The Guardian'' said that under Starmer, the way the selection panel has "exerted tight control" over how candidates are selected for shortlisting had become "extraordinary". Starmer "allies" say that selection vetting needs to be tougher as there has recently been a lot of MPs "suspended, arrested or ..embarrassed for ill-advised tweets". ''The Guardian'' added that the measures often appear to be factional even though previous scandals have not solely involved candidates from the party's left. The co-chair of ''Momentum
In Newtonian mechanics, momentum (more specifically linear momentum or translational momentum) is the product of the mass and velocity of an object. It is a vector quantity, possessing a magnitude and a direction. If is an object's mass an ...
'', Hilary Schan, said how times were hard for the left in the Labour party, amid the "controversy over party selections" in which candidates from the left-wing of the party were "excluded from shortlists".
''The New Statesman
The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members o ...
'' credits Starmer's campaign director, Morgan McSweeney, with the idea of "marginalising left-wingers" using a more stringent selection process.
Political positions
Starmer wrote articles for the magazines '' Socialist Alternatives'' and ''Socialist Lawyer
The Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers is a socialist and legal campaigning organisation in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1930 to provide legal support to the then Labour government. The Society was named after Viscount Haldane, a Liber ...
'' as a young man in the 1980s and 1990s. In July 1986, Starmer wrote in the first issue of ''Socialist Alternatives'' that trade unions should have had control over the "industry and community". He wrote in ''Socialist Lawyer'' that "Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...
was, of course, right" in saying it was pointless to believe a change of society could only be achieved by arguing about fundamental rights.
Starmer has been described as being on the soft left, in continuity with former Labour leader Ed Miliband
Edward Samuel "Ed" Miliband (born 24 December 1969) is a British politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Climate Change and Net Zero since 2021. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Doncaster North since 2005. Miliband ...
. Gavin Millar, a former legal colleague of Starmer, has described his politics as " red-green", a characterisation Starmer has agreed with. In a January 2020 interview, Starmer described himself as a socialist
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
, and stated in an opinion piece published by ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' the same month that his advocacy of socialism is motivated by "a burning desire to tackle inequality and injustice".
In an interview with the '' i''s Francis Elliott in December 2021, Starmer refused to characterise himself as a socialist as he seeks to move Labour closer to the political centre
Centrism is a political outlook or position involving acceptance or support of a balance of social equality and a degree of social hierarchy while opposing political changes that would result in a significant shift of society strongly to the l ...
for a possible next UK general election in 2023, asking "What does that mean?" He added: "The Labour Party is a party that believes that we get the best from each other when we come together, collectively, and ensure that you know, we give people both opportunity and support as they needed."
Domestic issues
Starmer supports social ownership
Social ownership is the appropriation of the surplus product, produced by the means of production, or the wealth that comes from it, to society as a whole. It is the defining characteristic of a socialist economic system. It can take the form o ...
and investment in the UK's public services, including the National Health Service
The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...
(NHS), as well as the abolition of university tuition fees. He has called for an increase in income tax for the top 5% of earners and an end to tax avoidance
Tax avoidance is the legal usage of the tax regime in a single territory to one's own advantage to reduce the amount of tax that is payable by means that are within the law. A tax shelter is one type of tax avoidance, and tax havens are jurisdict ...
by corporations. He advocates the reversal of the Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
's cuts in corporation tax and supported Labour's anti-austerity
The anti-austerity movement refers to the mobilisation of street protests and grassroots campaigns that has happened across various countries, especially in Europe, since the onset of the worldwide Great Recession.
Anti-austerity actions are var ...
proposals under Jeremy Corbyn
Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party from 2015 to 2020. On the political left of the Labour Party, Corbyn describes himself as a socialist ...
's leadership. On social inequality
Social inequality occurs when resources in a given society are distributed unevenly, typically through norms of allocation, that engender specific patterns along lines of socially defined categories of persons. It posses and creates gender c ...
, Starmer proposes "national wellbeing indicators" to measure the country's performance on health
Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...
, inequality, homelessness
Homelessness or houselessness – also known as a state of being unhoused or unsheltered – is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and adequate housing. People can be categorized as homeless if they are:
* living on the streets, also kn ...
, and the environment
The natural environment or natural world encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally, meaning in this case not artificial. The term is most often applied to the Earth or some parts of Earth. This environment encompasses t ...
. He has called for an "overhaul" of the UK's Universal Credit scheme. Opposing Scottish independence
Scottish independence ( gd, Neo-eisimeileachd na h-Alba; sco, Scots unthirldom) is the idea of Scotland as a sovereign state, independent from the United Kingdom, and refers to the political movement that is campaigning to bring it about.
S ...
and a second referendum on the subject, the Labour Party under Starmer's leadership has set up a constitutional convention to address what he describes as a belief among people across the UK that "decisions about me should be taken closer to me." Starmer is against the reunification of Ireland
United Ireland, also referred to as Irish reunification, is the proposition that all of Ireland should be a single sovereign state. At present, the island is divided politically; the sovereign Republic of Ireland has jurisdiction over the maj ...
, having stated that he would be "very much on the side of Unionists" if there were to be a border poll. On education, he vowed in 2021 to strip independent schools of their charitable status, a move that has been criticised by the Independent Schools Council
The Independent Schools Council (ISC) is a non-profit lobby group that represents over 1,300 schools in the United Kingdom's independent education sector. The organisation comprises seven independent school associations and promotes the busin ...
, and he repeated the pledge in July 2022.
In the 2020 Labour Party leadership election, Starmer ran on a pledge to renationalise rail, mail, water, and energy back into common ownership; he dropped this pledge in July 2022. In 2022 speeches, Starmer criticised the Conservative government and vowed to restore trust in government if he came to power. He described the Labour Party as "deeply patriotic" and cited its most successful leaders, Clement Attlee
Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, (3 January 18838 October 1967) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955. He was Deputy Prime Mini ...
, Harold Wilson
James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, (11 March 1916 – 24 May 1995) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from October 1964 to June 1970, and again from March 1974 to April 1976. He ...
, and Tony Blair
Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...
, for policies "rooted in the everyday concerns of working people". Starmer advocates a government based on "security, prosperity and respect". He wants crime reduced, maintaining that "too many people do not feel safe in their streets". He also wants to see "repairing after the pandemic". Starmer favours partnership between government and business, having said: "A political party without a clear plan for making sure businesses are successful and growing ... which doesn't want them to do well and make a profit ... has no hope of being a successful government." Starmer wants to replace the House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...
with an elected second chamber, Starmer maintains the Conservatives have too often given peerages to ‘lackeys and donors‘.
Foreign affairs
Starmer has advocated an end to "illegal wars" and a review of the UK arms export
UK arms export refers to trades of UK-made weapons around the world. The country is one of the world’s most successful arms exporters. According to the analysis by Action on Armed Violence, Military arms deals have been prepared £39bn between ...
. During his leadership campaign, he pledged to create a "Prevention of Military Intervention Act", which would only permit lawful military action with the support of the House of Commons. Starmer stated in 2015 that he believed that the Iraq War
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish)
, partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...
was " not lawful under international law because there was no UN resolution expressly authorising it." Starmer called for sanctions against Chinese officials who have been involved in human rights abuses
Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hum ...
. He criticised the United Kingdom's involvement in the Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen, saying that "it is Boris Johnson and his government who have signed off on the sale of billions of pounds of fighter jets, bombs and missiles, weapons that have destroyed civilian infrastructure, targeted schools and hospitals, and fuelled the humanitarian crisis that Yemen faces. The government must face up to its complicity in this crisis, and we must all talk about Yemen." Starmer condemned the assassination of Qasem Soleimani and said the world needed to "engage, not isolate" Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
and warned that "all sides need to de-escalate tensions and prevent further conflict."
Starmer was previously an advocate for a second Brexit referendum
A referendum on the Brexit withdrawal agreement, also referred to as a "second referendum", a "rerun", a "people's vote", or a "confirmatory public vote", was proposed by a number of politicians and pressure groups as a way to break the deadlock ...
after the process of the UK withdrawal from the EU was completed; in 2021, he ruled out a return to free movement with the EU or substantial renegotiation of the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement
The EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) is a free trade agreement signed on 30 December 2020, between the European Union (EU), the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom), and the United Kingdom (UK). It provisionally applied from ...
if Labour won the next UK general election. Of the United States as it transitioned from the presidency of Donald Trump to that of Joe Biden, he said: "I'm anti-Trump but I'm pro-American. And I'm incredibly optimistic about the new relationship we can build with President Biden." He argued that "Britain is at its strongest" when it is "the bridge between the US and the rest of Europe." Starmer said that Israel "must respect international law" and called on the Israeli government to work with leaders of Palestine
__NOTOC__
Palestine may refer to:
* State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia
* Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia
* Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...
to de-escalate the Israeli–Palestinian conflict
The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is one of the world's most enduring conflicts, beginning in the mid-20th century. Various attempts have been made to resolve the conflict as part of the Israeli–Palestinian peace process, alongside other ef ...
. Starmer opposes illegal Israeli settlements, proposals for Israeli annexation of the West Bank, and "the eviction of Palestinians" in the Israeli-occupied territories
Israeli-occupied territories are the lands that were captured and occupied by Israel during the Six-Day War of 1967. While the term is currently applied to the Palestinian territories and the Golan Heights, it has also been used to refer to a ...
; he also opposes the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement promoting boycotts, divestments, and economic sanctions against Israel.
During the 2021–2022 Russo-Ukrainian crisis
In March and April 2021, Russian president Vladimir Putin ordered the Russian military to begin massing thousands of personnel and equipment near its border with Ukraine and in Crimea, representing the largest mobilization since the annex ...
, Starmer held a meeting with NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg
Jens Stoltenberg (born 16 March 1959) is a Norwegian politician who has been serving as the 13th secretary general of NATO since 2014. A member of the Norwegian Labour Party, he previously served as the 34th prime minister of Norway from 2000 to ...
and said in an interview with the BBC that his predecessor Jeremy Corbyn
Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party from 2015 to 2020. On the political left of the Labour Party, Corbyn describes himself as a socialist ...
was "wrong" to be a critic of NATO and that the Labour Party's commitment to the alliance was "unshakeable". He elaborated on this point that he felt it was "important for me to make clear that we stand united in the UK ... Whatever challenges we have with the oris Johnson's
Oris SA is a Switzerland, Swiss luxury Watch manufacturer, manufacturer of mechanical watches. The company was founded in 1904 and is based in Hölstein in the canton of Canton of Basel-Landschaft, Basel-Landschaft.
History
Genesis and early ...
government, when it comes to Russian aggression we stand together." He said Russia should be hit with "widespread and hard-hitting" economic sanctions
Economic sanctions are commercial and financial penalties applied by one or more countries against a targeted self-governing state, group, or individual. Economic sanctions are not necessarily imposed because of economic circumstances—they may ...
. He also criticised the Stop the War Coalition in an opinion piece for ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' arguing that they were "not benign voices for peace" but rather " best they are naive, at worst they actively give succour to authoritarian leaders" such as Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
"who directly threaten democracies."
Starmer supports maintaining the UK's nuclear arsenal as the nuclear deterrent, and voted for renewal of the Trident program; he supports the general post-Cold War British policy of a gradual reduction in nuclear stockpiles.[Dan Sabbagh and Jessica Elgot]
Keir Starmer accuses PM of breaking policy on nuclear disarmament
''The Guardian'' (16 March 2021).
Personal life
Starmer married Victoria Alexander in 2007. She was previously a solicitor but now works in NHS occupational health. The couple's son and daughter are being brought up in the Jewish faith
Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the M ...
of their mother. Starmer himself stated he does not believe in God but does "believe in faith" and its power to bring people together. Starmer is a keen footballer, having played for Homerton Academicals, a north London amateur team, and supports Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
side Arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
.
Starmer is a vegetarian
Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter.
Vegetarianism m ...
, believing that "it's better for yourself and for the environment".
Awards and honours
* Appointed Queen's Counsel
In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...
(QC) in 2002.
* Bar Council's Sydney Elland Goldsmith Award in 2005 for his outstanding contribution to ''pro bono
( en, 'for the public good'), usually shortened to , is a Latin phrase for professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment. In the United States, the term typically refers to provision of legal services by legal professionals for pe ...
'' work in challenging the death penalty in Uganda, Kenya, Malawi, and the Caribbean.
* Honorary Fellow
Honorary titles (professor, reader, lecturer) in academia may be conferred on persons in recognition of contributions by a non-employee or by an employee beyond regular duties. This practice primarily exists in the UK and Germany, as well as in m ...
of St Edmund Hall, Oxford.
* Appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...
(KCB) in the 2014 New Year Honours
The New Year Honours 2014 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrati ...
for "services to law and criminal justice". The knighthood
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...
entitles him to be styled as "Sir Keir Starmer"; he prefers that people do not use the title "Sir".
* Sworn into the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
The Privy Council (PC), officially His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises senior politicians who are current or former members of e ...
on 19 July 2017. This enabled him to be styled "The Right Honourable
''The Right Honourable'' ( abbreviation: ''Rt Hon.'' or variations) is an honorific style traditionally applied to certain persons and collective bodies in the United Kingdom, the former British Empire and the Commonwealth of Nations. The term is ...
".
Publications
Starmer is the author and editor of several books about criminal law and human rights, including:
* ''Justice in Error'' (1993), edited with Clive Walker, London: Blackstone, .
* ''The Three Pillars of Liberty: Political Rights and Freedoms in the United Kingdom'' (1996), with Francesca Klug and Stuart Weir, London: Routledge, .
* ''Signing Up for Human Rights: The United Kingdom and International Standards'' (1998), with Conor Foley, London: Amnesty International United Kingdom, .
* ''Miscarriages of Justice: A Review of Justice in Error'' (1999), edited with Clive Walker, London: Blackstone, .
* ''European Human Rights Law: the Human Rights Act 1998 and the European Convention on Human Rights'' (1999), London: Legal Action Group, .
* ''Criminal Justice, Police Powers and Human Rights'' (2001), with Anthony Jennings, Tim Owen, Michelle Strange, and Quincy Whitaker, London: Blackstone, .
* ''Blackstone's Human Rights Digest'' (2001), with Iain Byrne, London: Blackstone, .
* ''A Report on the Policing of the Ardoyne Parades 12 July 2004'' (2004), with Jane Gordon, Belfast: Northern Ireland Policing Board.
See also
* '' The Starmer Project''
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
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*
CPS
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Starmer, Keir
1962 births
20th-century English lawyers
21st-century English lawyers
Alumni of St Edmund Hall, Oxford
Alumni of the University of Leeds
British social democrats
Directors of Public Prosecutions (England and Wales)
English King's Counsel
English socialists
Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath
Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
Lawyers awarded knighthoods
Leaders of the Labour Party (UK)
Leaders of the Opposition (United Kingdom)
Living people
Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
People educated at Reigate Grammar School
People from Kentish Town
People from Oxted
People from Reigate
21st-century King's Counsel
UK MPs 2015–2017
UK MPs 2017–2019
UK MPs 2019–present