The verdict is clear. Labour won the general election by a wide margin on Thursday 4 July, according to initial estimates from British television

The centre-left Labour party appears to have won far more than the 326 seats needed for an absolute majority, according to BBC figures. After fourteen years in power, the Conservatives have recorded their worst result since the beginning of the 20th century.

The Liberal Democrats (centrists) appear to be gaining in strength, while the anti-immigration Reform UK party, led by Nigel Farage, is expected to make a stronger entry into Parliament than expected. Scottish independence fighters, on the other hand, have suffered a major setback.

Modest origins

Keir Rodney Starmer was born on 2 September 1962 and grew up in a small house on the outskirts of London with one brother and two sisters. He was named Keir after the founder of the Labour Party, Keir Hardie.

His father was a tool and die maker and his mother, a nurse, suffered from a rare joint disease. Starmer often talks about his humble origins.

“I know what it’s like to be embarrassed to bring friends home because the carpet is worn and the windows are cracked,” he said when presenting his programme in June.

A late career in politics

After studying law at Leeds University and then Oxford, Keir Starmer began his career as a human rights lawyer. He fought against the death penalty in the Caribbean and distinguished himself in the McLibel v McDonald’s case.

He then worked in Northern Ireland, where he helped restructure the police service after the Troubles, a three-decade conflict that resulted in more than 3,500 deaths.

In 2008, he was appointed head of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), a position for which he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2014. However, he rarely uses his title ‘Sir’.

Elected Labour MP for a north London constituency in 2015, he was re-elected in 2017 and 2019.

Renewal of the Labour Party

In 2016, Keir Starmer campaigned against Brexit and became his party’s spokesperson on the issue, despite his differences with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who suffered a major defeat in the 2019 general election.

Elected Labour leader in April 2020, Starmer sought to turn the page on the Corbyn era, marked by accusations of anti-Semitism. In 2020, he suspended Corbyn after a damning report into the handling of those accusations.

Under his leadership, Labour has refocused, particularly on economic issues, which has displeased some of its militant base. Starmer has been accused of carrying out “purges” by the left wing of the party, but he remains firm with those who do not follow his line.

A pragmatic programme

Keir Starmer is seen as serious and competent in the polls. He has run a sober campaign, without spectacular announcements, taking advantage of the strong unpopularity of the Conservatives and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

His economic programme is “pro-business”, with support for investment and fiscal prudence designed to reassure the markets. He promises to “rebuild” the British economy without raising taxes.

He also plans to strengthen the healthcare system and combat tax evasion. To reduce energy bills, he proposes to set up a public company to produce clean energy and to introduce a tax on the oil and gas giants.

Starmer takes a tough stance on illegal immigration, promising to create a “border security command” and use anti-terrorism powers to dismantle criminal smuggling networks. However, he opposed the controversial law deporting asylum seekers to Rwanda.