![]() | This article's subject is standing for re-election to the British House of Commons on 4 July, and has not been an MP since the dissolution of Parliament on 30 May. This article may be out of date during this period. |
Keir Starmer | |||||||||||||
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![]() Official portrait, 2017 | |||||||||||||
Leader of the Opposition | |||||||||||||
Assumed office 4 April 2020 | |||||||||||||
Monarchs | |||||||||||||
Prime Minister | |||||||||||||
Deputy | Angela Rayner | ||||||||||||
Preceded by | Jeremy Corbyn | ||||||||||||
Leader of the Labour Party | |||||||||||||
Assumed office 4 April 2020 | |||||||||||||
Deputy | Angela Rayner | ||||||||||||
Preceded by | Jeremy Corbyn | ||||||||||||
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In office 7 May 2015 – 30 May 2024^ | |||||||||||||
Preceded by | Frank Dobson | ||||||||||||
Majority | 27,763 (48.9%) | ||||||||||||
Director of Public Prosecutions | |||||||||||||
In office 1 November 2008 – 1 November 2013 | |||||||||||||
Appointed by | Patricia Scotland | ||||||||||||
Preceded by | Ken Macdonald | ||||||||||||
Succeeded by | Alison Saunders | ||||||||||||
Personal details | |||||||||||||
Born | Keir Rodney Starmer 2 September 1962 London, England | ||||||||||||
Political party | Labour | ||||||||||||
Spouse |
Victoria Alexander (m. 2007) | ||||||||||||
Children | 2 | ||||||||||||
Education | |||||||||||||
Occupation |
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Signature | ![]() | ||||||||||||
Website | keirstarmer | ||||||||||||
Sir Keir Rodney Starmer KCB KC (/ˈkɪər/ ; born 2 September 1962) is a British politician and barrister who has served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party since 2020. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Holborn and St Pancras from 2015 to 2024, and was previously Director of Public Prosecutions from 2008 to 2013. He ideologically identifies as a progressive and as a centrist.
Starmer was born in London and raised in Surrey, where he attended the selective state Reigate Grammar School, which became a private school while he was a student. He was politically active from an early age, joining the Labour Party Young Socialists at the age of 16. Starmer graduated with a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Leeds in 1985 and gained a postgraduate Bachelor of Civil Law degree at St Edmund Hall at the University of Oxford in 1986. After being called to the bar, Starmer practised predominantly in criminal defence work, specialising in human rights. He served as a human rights adviser to the Northern Ireland Policing Board and was appointed a Queen's Counsel in 2002, later citing his work on policing in Northern Ireland as being a key influence on his decision to pursue a political career. During his time as Director of Public Prosecutions, Starmer dealt with a number of major cases including the Stephen Lawrence murder case. He was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in the 2014 New Year Honours for services to law and criminal justice.
Starmer was elected to the House of Commons at the 2015 general election. As a backbencher, Starmer supported the unsuccessful Britain Stronger in Europe campaign in the 2016 European Union membership referendum. He was appointed Shadow Minister for Immigration by Jeremy Corbyn, but resigned from this role in June 2016 as part of the wider shadow cabinet resignations in protest of Corbyn's leadership. Starmer accepted a new post under Corbyn that year as Shadow Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, and advocated a proposed second referendum on Brexit. Following Corbyn's resignation after the party lost the 2019 general election, Starmer won the 2020 party leadership election to succeed him on a left-wing platform.
Under his leadership, Starmer has repositioned the party away from the left and toward the political centre. He has emphasised the importance of eliminating antisemitism within the party, which had been a controversial issue during Corbyn's leadership. His supporters have praised him for his antisemitism reforms and helping make the Labour Party look more credible than it did during the previous leadership, while his critics have accused him of unfairly treating leftist Labour members.[1][2] In 2023, Starmer set out five missions for a Labour government, targeting issues such as economic growth, health, clean energy, crime, and education. Since 2021, the party has maintained leads in opinion polling over the governing Conservative Party, often by very wide margins, and made significant gains in the 2023 and 2024 local elections.