Keir Starmer, a former human rights lawyer, is set to become Britain’s next Prime Minister after an exit poll predicted a landslide victory for the Labour Party. The exit poll, which has accurately predicted the winner of the last five British general elections, indicated that Labour would win a majority of seats in the House of Commons, replacing the Conservative Party.
Starmer’s leadership has been marked by a shift towards the political center, highlighting the shortcomings of previous Conservative prime ministers. His approach has been described as “ferociously…disciplined” by Jill Rutter, a researcher at the London-based think tank U.K. in a Changing Europe. “He’s not going to set hearts racing, but he does look relatively prime-ministerial,” she added.
The 61-year-old Starmer has a strong background in law, having studied at Leeds University and Oxford. He was named after Keir Hardie, a trade unionist and Labour’s first leader. Starmer’s career has been marked by notable achievements, including his work as defence counsel for protesters accused of libel by McDonald’s and his later role as Britain’s chief prosecutor, for which he was awarded a knighthood.
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Starmer’s commitment to supporting Britain’s military and his promise not to increase taxes on working families have helped to rebrand the Labour Party. He has also taken steps to address antisemitism within the party, a issue that had contaminated the party’s ranks under previous leader Jeremy Corbyn.
Starmer’s wife, Victoria Starmer, comes from a Jewish family in London, but he has not linked his personal life to this issue.
With his party’s landslide victory, Starmer is set to become the next Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, replacing Rishi Sunak, who resigned as Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party following the election results.
