Who is Keir Starmer, the elected leader of the Labour Party?

Keir Starmer, the 61-year-old leader of the center-left Labour Party, is currently the leading candidate in the UK's July 4th election.

He spent four years as the leader of the opposition. His message to voters was that a Labour government would bring economic and political stability.

British Labour Party leader Keir Starmer. Photo: AP

As a lawyer who served as Chief Prosecutor of England and Wales from 2008 to 2013, Mr. Starmer was ridiculed by opponents as a "London left-wing lawyer". He was knighted for his leadership of the Royal Prosecution Service.

Mr. Starmer prefers to be modest about his qualifications and background, a stark contrast to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, a former Goldman Sachs banker married to the daughter of a billionaire.

Mr. Starmer loves football, still plays the sport on weekends, and enjoys nothing more than watching Premier League team Arsenal with a beer at the local pub. He and his wife, Victoria, who works in occupational health , have two teenage children.

Born in 1963, Mr. Starmer was the son of a toolmaker and a nurse. They named him after the first leader of the Labour Party, Keir Hardie. He was one of four children in a struggling family in a small suburban London town.

"There have been tough times. I know what it feels like when inflation is out of control, when the rising cost of living can make you dread seeing the mailman and worry about whether he's bringing another bill you can't afford," he said in his campaign launch speech.

Starmer's mother suffered from a chronic illness. He once said that visiting and caring for her in the hospital helped shape his strong support for the state-funded National Health Service.

He was the first member of his family to attend university, majoring in law at the Universities of Leeds and Oxford, and practiced human rights law before being appointed chief prosecutor.

He entered politics at age 50 and was elected to Parliament in 2015. He often disagreed with party leader Jeremy Corbyn. After Corbyn led the Labour Party to defeats in the 2017 and 2019 elections, the Labour Party chose Starmer to lead its reconstruction efforts.

His leadership coincided with a turbulent period as the UK experienced the COVID-19 pandemic, left the EU, suffered an economic shock from the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and endured the economic turmoil from Liz Truss's tumultuous 49-day premiership in 2022.

Mr. Starmer was a strong opponent of the UK's decision to leave the European Union, although he now says the Labour Party will not seek to reverse that decision. He promised "a cultural shift within the Labour Party".

Currently, Mr. Starmer must convince voters that the Labour government can alleviate the UK's chronic housing crisis and repair deteriorating public services, particularly healthcare, without imposing tax increases or exacerbating the public debt.

At the party congress in October, he expressed his intense passion when he told cheering delegates: "I grew up in the working class. I have fought all my life. And now I will not stop either."

Ngoc Anh (according to AP)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/keir-starmer-lanh-dao-dang-lao-dong-duoc-du-bao-se-thang-trong-cuoc-bau-cu-tai-vuong-quoc-anh-la-ai-post301442.html