Keir Starmer

The Right Honourable
Sir Keir Starmer
KCB KC MP
The Right Honourable Sir Keir Starmer KCB KC MP
	Official portrait, 2024
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 5 July 2024
Monarch	Charles III
Deputy	Angela Rayner
Preceded by	Rishi Sunak
Leader of the Opposition
	In office; 4 April 2020 – 5 July 2024
Monarchs	Elizabeth II; Charles III;
Prime Minister	Boris Johnson; Liz Truss; Rishi Sunak;
Deputy	Angela Rayner
Preceded by	Jeremy Corbyn
Succeeded by	Rishi Sunak
Leader of the Labour Party
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 4 April 2020
Deputy	Angela Rayner
Preceded by	Jeremy Corbyn
2016–2020
Shadow portfolios
Shadow Secretary of State
2016–2020	Exiting the European Union
Shadow Minister
2015–2016	Immigration
Member of Parliament; for Holborn and St Pancras;
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 7 May 2015
Preceded by	Frank Dobson
Majority	11,572 (30.0%)
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 (age 61); London, England
Political party	Labour
Spouse	Victoria Alexander (m. 2007)
Children	2
Residences	10 Downing Street, London; Chequers, Aylesbury;
Education	Reigate Grammar School; University of Leeds (LLB); St Edmund Hall, Oxford (BCL);
Occupation	Politician; barrister;
Signature
Website	keirstarmer.com

Sir Keir Rodney Starmer KCB KC (/ˈkɪər/ ^ⓘ; born 2 September 1962) is a British politician and barrister who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom since 2024, as Leader of the Labour Party since 2020, and previously as Leader of the Opposition from 2020 to 2024. He has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Holborn and St Pancras since 2015, and previously was Director of Public Prosecutions from 2008 to 2013. Starmer ideologically identifies as progressive and as a centrist.

Born in London and raised in Surrey, Starmer 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 and joined the Labour Party Young Socialists at the age of 16. He 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; his Northern Ireland policing work influencing his decision to pursue a political career. During his time as Director of Public Prosecutions, he 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, he supported the unsuccessful Britain Stronger in Europe campaign in the 2016 European Union membership referendum. He was appointed to Jeremy Corbyn's shadow cabinet as Shadow Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, and advocated a proposed second referendum on Brexit. Following Corbyn's resignation after Labour's defeat at the 2019 general election, Starmer succeeded him by winning the 2020 leadership election on a left-wing platform. During his tenure as opposition leader, Starmer moved the party back more toward the centre, and emphasised the importance of eliminating antisemitism within the party. He led Labour to victory in the local elections in 2023 and 2024. In 2023, Starmer set out five missions for his government, targeting issues such as economic growth, health, clean energy, crime and education.^[1]

In July 2024, Starmer led Labour to a landslide victory at the 2024 general election, ending fourteen years of Conservative government with Labour becoming the largest party in the House of Commons.^[2] He succeeded Rishi Sunak as prime minister on 5 July 2024, becoming the first Labour prime minister since Gordon Brown in 2010 and the first one to win a general election since Tony Blair at the 2005 general election.^[3]