Keir Starmer, who the late Queen Elizabeth II knighted for his services to law and criminal justice, spent much of his career in the legal profession before stepping into the world of politics.
London: Keir Starmer, the Labour Party leader who is set to become the UK’s new prime minister, on Friday thanked voters and said the people of the country are ready for change and to end the politics of performance as he spoke for the first time since the exit poll predicted a landslide for his party in the general election.
Keir Starmer Will Serve Every Person in UK
Starmer, 61, in his victory speech after winning from Holborn and St Pancras, said whether people voted for him or not, “I’ll serve every person in this constituency.”
His speech came after Britons resoundingly voted to put an end to 14 years of Conservative rule and deliver a landslide victory for the Labour Party
UK Elections 2024: Here’s What Exit Poll Predicts
As per the exit poll, which is often quite close to the final tally, Labour could win as many as 410 seats, comfortably crossing the halfway 326 mark and notching up a 170-seat majority with the incumbent Tories led by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak down to just 131 seats.
As the results started pouring in, the Labour Party won 184 seats, the Conservatives 32, the Liberal Democrats 23, the Scottish National Party 3 and others 11.
Who is Keir Starmer?
- Keir Starmer, who the late Queen Elizabeth II knighted for his services to law and criminal justice, spent much of his career in the legal profession before stepping into the world of politics.
- He was first elected as Labour’s member of Parliament from London in 2015.
- The 61-year-old leader has been credited with reversing the party’s fortunes from one of its worst poll performances in the 2019 general election to the edge of government.
- The other turnaround Starmer worked on was to try and re-build Labour’s connect with the Indian diaspora, alienated under former leader Jeremy Corbyn over a perceived anti-India stance on Kashmir.
- Born in London to a toolmaker father and an NHS nurse mother, Starmer grew up in the town of Oxted in Surrey.
- Keir Starmer believes he has inherited the grit and determination of his mother and the strong work ethic of his father, Rodney, whose manual labour drives much of Starmer’s vision to ensure respect for those who work hard.
- As a new MP in 2016, the staunch anti-Brexiteer assumed the key role of shadow Brexit secretary under then leader Jeremy Corbyn and supported the latter to fight for what he said was the “future of the Labour Party”.
- Starmer has two children. His wife, Victoria, is an employee of the National Health Service (NHS).
- Starmer during a speech last year sought a robust relationship with India on the grounds of global security, climate security and economic security.