Keir Starmer: Read 7 interesting facts about Labour Party's leader who is UK's PM-elect

• Keir Starmer, has emerged as Britain's new Prime Minister after defeating his major rival an incumbent, Rishi Sunak
• On Friday, July 4, Sunak will vacate his seat for his predecessor, Starmer who has pledged a reset not only for the country but also for the Labour Party
• Legit.ng reported that Starmer won the UK general election with a landslide, with the mantra, 'change begins now' with an interesting portfolio outlined in this article

Legit.ng journalist Esther Odili has over two years of experience covering political parties and movements

On Friday, July 5, Keir Starmer will become the United Kingdom (UK)'s first Labour prime minister since 2010 after his party's landslide general election victory.

Keir Starmer, Britain's next prime minister and his lovely wife, Victoria. Images for illustration. Photo credit: Keir Starmer
Source: Facebook

As reported by BBC, Labour is returning to power with a huge parliamentary majority of 174, following a collapse in support for the Conservatives.

According to reports, Keir will be formally appointed by the King at Buckingham Palace later and then make his first speech in Downing Street.

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Reuters reported on Friday that Keir Starmer enters power with one of the longest lists of problems ever to face an incoming prime minister and few resources to deal with them - a situation that could curtail any "honeymoon period" offered by the British people.

Facts about Keir Starmer

Ahead of Starmer's inauguration, Legit.ng compiled an interesting facts about the the UK PM-elect:

His uncommon first name

NPR reported on Friday that Keir Starmer got teased as a youngster over his uncommon first name, Keir, which means dark or brooding in Gaelic and Irish.

His biographer Tom Baldwin said, “His parents were “proper old-fashioned socialists who may have named their son after Keir Hardie, a 19th century Scottish trade unionist, who founded the Labour Party in 1900”.

UK's Labour Party leader

Keir Starmer is Prime Minister of the United Kingdom but has served as the Labour MP for Holborn and St Pancras.

He was elected the leader of the Labour Party on April 4, 2020.

He is 61 years old, grew up in a posh suburb

Keir Starmer was born on September 2, 1962 in Southwark, London, but grew up in Oxted, Surrey. As reported by CBS News, Starmer grew up in a small town in Surrey, just outside London. His mother worked for the National Health Service, Britain's free public health care system, and his father was a toolmaker. He was the second of the four children of his parents.

Married to Victoria

Reports disclosed that Starmer is married to Victoria who practises Judaism. They have a son and a daughter.

According to The Jerusalem Post, Victoria Starmer, a Jewish woman with a rich cultural heritage and deep-rooted traditions, is poised to become the UK's first lady.

A first class law graduate

UK PM-elect reportedly studied law at the University of Leeds, where he graduated with first class honours and a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree in 1985.

Keir Starmer undertook postgraduate studies Law at the University of Oxford.

He was a journalist

Keir Starmer served as the editor of Socialist Alternatives, a Trotskyist radical magazine, between 1986 and 1987.

Was called to bar in Caribbean countries

Keir Starmer became a barrister in 1987 at the Middle Temple. He became a bencher there in 2009. He was also called to the bar in several Caribbean countries.

He was a notable human rights lawyer.

From human rights lawyer to crime-fighting prosecutor

As reported by PM News, in July 2008, he became the head of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and Director of Public Prosecutions.

NPR reported that Keir Starmer worked as a human rights lawyer for about 20 years, and served as an adviser to police in Northern Ireland after the Good Friday Peace Agreement, signed in 1998. But then he switched sides and became a prosecutor. For five years, he served as the director of public prosecutions for England and Wales.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak concedes defeat

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Rishi Sunak, the outgoing Prime Minister of the UK, has conceded defeat in the general election held on Thursday, July 4.

In a statement, Sunak acknowledged the poll results, which saw the Labour Party win a majority of seats in the House of Commons.

Sunak took responsibility for the Conservative Party's loss, saying, "The British people have delivered a sobering verdict tonight, and I take responsibility for the loss."

Source: Legit.ng