logo
Keir Starmer's rarely-seen wife, awkward first meet and important job behind the scenes

Keir Starmer's rarely-seen wife, awkward first meet and important job behind the scenes

Daily Mirror5 days ago
Labour leader Keir Starmer has been married to his wife, Victoria, for over 16 years - but she largely avoids the spotlight and is rarely seen alongside her political husband
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has been married to his wife Victoria for over 16 years, but she's rarely makes public appearances alongside the Labout leader.

Today, however, is an exception. Starmer met with President Trump at his resort in South Ayrshire, Scotland, and Victoria was right by his side.

The couple were greeted by Trump as they arrived this afternoon, with Victoria dressed in a cream blazer and tailored maxi skirt as she shook hands with the US President who affectionately put his hand on her arm.

Starmer, 62, who served in Jeremy Corbyn's top team, moved into the limelight in 2020, though his other half has chosen to stay largely out of the public eye. In an interview, Starmer explained how Victoria talks through ideas on how to improve the country with him - but wants to protect her privacy.
"She's a streetwise grounded, brilliant, gorgeous woman who wants as far as she can to get on with her own life and to protect it," he told the Sunday Mirror. "She loves working for the NHS. She loves the team that she's working with. And she and I are doing our best to raise two happy and confident children and that matters hugely to us."

Just like her husband, Victoria is a trained solicitor who now works in the NHS as an occupational health worker.
The pair married in 2007 - the year before Starmer became Director of Public Prosecutions - and share two children, a son called Tony and a daughter whose name was not made public.
The couple met in the early 2000s when working as lawyers, where Victoria had to supply Keir with documents for a case he was working on. But it seems her first impression of the Labour leader was less than impressed.

According to Starmer's unofficial biographer Nigel Cawthorne, author of Keir Starmer: A Life of Contrasts: "He rang her and, having never spoken to her before, queried whether the brief she had sent him was less than '100 percent accurate'.
"Unflustered, Victoria firmly held her ground against the caller on the other side of the line, reassuring him that she knew her job and, after putting the phone down, said, 'Who the f*** does he think he is?'"
Keir also recalled the first encounter when speaking on Piers Morgan's Life Stories in 2020, explaining: "I was doing a case in court and it all depended on whether the documents were accurate. I [asked the team] who actually drew up these documents, they said a woman called Victoria, so I said let's get her on the line."

He revealed how he ended up hearing her last comment. "She said, 'Who the bleep does he think he is?', then put the phone down on me. And quite right too."
Keir reportedly took her for their first date at the Lord Stanley pub, in Camden, where they now live in a £1.75 million townhouse in his Holborn and St Pancras constituency.

The family of Victoria, who grew up in the nearby Gospel Oak area, is originally from Poland with Jewish heritage.
Although Keir is an atheist, he has mentioned that their children have been brought up in the faith. In an interview on Radio 4's Desert Island Discs, Keir revealed: "It is perfectly true that my wife's father is Jewish - they came from Poland - and my wife's mother converted when they got married. There is a long tradition of family and faith there. We observe some of the practices, for example, Friday night prayers".
And it appears that if ever Keir got into Downing Street, Victoria would be off doing her own thing, according to a Labour insider. "She's quite sassy in that she's quite unbothered by what he's doing," a source told the Telegraph last year.

"If he ever gets into Downing Street, she's going to be very much leading her own life. She's not going to be in the spotlight like Cherie Blair, but more of a background Sarah Brown-type figure.
"They have a great dynamic – she spends quite a lot of time taking the mickey out of him because he can be so serious. I've never known her to be particularly political – she's always had her own interests."
Trump and Starmer are meeting to discuss the situation in Gaza and trade.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Palestinian statehood vote at Victorian Labor conference heaps more pressure on PM
Palestinian statehood vote at Victorian Labor conference heaps more pressure on PM

The Guardian

timean hour ago

  • The Guardian

Palestinian statehood vote at Victorian Labor conference heaps more pressure on PM

Victorian Labor members have voted to immediately recognise Palestine, heaping further pressure on the Albanese government to join Canada, France and the UK in their push for a sovereign state. Rank and file members at Labor's state conference on Saturday also carried an urgent resolution to review the Aukus submarine deal. However, the wording of the motion was watered down before the vote. Labor Friends of Palestine's motion calling on the federal government to immediately recognise Palestine, extend existing sanctions on two Israeli ministers to all members of Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet, and to end all direct and indirect military trade with Israel was carried. Sign up: AU Breaking News email The internal campaign group's Victorian convener, Oliver van Ingen, told the conference the measures were 'appropriate, effective steps that Australia can take to contribute to peace in the Middle East' and were backed by unions, Labor members and the wider community. 'The time has come for sanctions and an end to military trade – they are the only option to prevent further atrocities and work towards a long-term solution,' van Ingen said. The motion was seconded by Tony Piccolo, from the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union, who said: 'Apartheid is never right, no matter who the perpetrators are and the reasons they say it stands. 'The behaviours we walk past – whether they be in the world, in our community, on the job site, or anywhere else – [are] the behaviours that we accept, and, comrades, we can't accept what is going on in the name of self-defence,' Piccolo said. 'I won't, and I hope you won't either.' Attempts to amend the motion were put forward by Nick Dyrenfurth, from Labor Friends of Israel, and Dean Sherr, a former Albanese adviser and lobbyist, who is also a member of the Jewish community, but failed. Dyrenfurth told the conference it was 'impractical to recognise a Palestinian state at this juncture' and criticised 'one-sided extreme motions, which endlessly demonise just one party in this ongoing conflict'. Albanese has so far stopped short of matching his UK counterpart Keir Starmer's promise to recognise the state of Palestine in September unless Israel abides by a ceasefire and commits to a two-state solution. Two other resolutions by Friends of Palestine – to increase aid and for the protection of civil liberties, including the right to protest – were also carried. As was a motion urging a federal review of the Aukus submarine deal – but only after criticisms of the US president, Donald Trump, were removed, alongside a sentence calling for a 'withdrawal' from the partnership. 'Despite the best efforts of ministers' offices to have this vote killed off, we prevailed and the voice of the rank-and-file has been clearly heard,' the Labor Against War Victorian convener, Hamish McPherson, said. A committee report that called on the government to suspend funding during the proposed inquiry and for the Victorian branch to make a submission calling on withdrawal from the Aukus partnership, however, passed. While non-binding on state or federal Labor MPs, the motions represent one of the most effective ways for rank-and-file members and unions to influence party policy. With prime minister, Anthony Albanese, in the Northern Territory for the Garma Festival, deputy prime minister and defence minister, Richard Marles, was the most senior party figure at Moonee Valley Racecourse on Saturday. But he received a lukewarm reception, with some delegates refusing to stand as he arrived. During Marles' speech, a group of delegates held up their phones to display Palestine flags. Tim Ryder, said participated in the 'silent protest' to 'hold the federal government to account' over their lack of action on Palestine. He also criticised the conference for banning placards on the floor this year, saying branches were 'white hot' with 'rage' over the move. Pro-Palestinian protesters also gathered outside but were unable to make it into the racecourse as they had last year, due to tighter security. Marles said the recent federal election result – where the party won 27 of the 38 seats and 56% of the two-party preferred vote – 'enshrines Victoria as Australian Labor's home base'. He thanked volunteers for their 'countless hours' volunteering during the campaign and vowed to deliver on the 'entirety of the agenda that we took to this election'. The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, used her speech to announce a key policy commitment to enshrine in law the right to work remotely two days a week, setting stage for the 2026 state election, which she said 'won't be easy'. 'We've got a fight on our hands, a fight for what we've built, a fight for the people who rely on us, a fight for the future of this state,' she said. 'But let me tell you, it is a fight we will win because our cause is just, our record is strong, our vision for the future is clear and our movement is unstoppable when it remembers what it is fighting for.'

Online Safety Act: are Labour or the Tories worse on free speech?
Online Safety Act: are Labour or the Tories worse on free speech?

Spectator

timean hour ago

  • Spectator

Online Safety Act: are Labour or the Tories worse on free speech?

Is the Online Safety Act protecting children – or threatening free speech? Michael Simmons hosts John Power, who writes the Spectator's cover piece this week on how the Act has inadvertently created online censorship. Implemented and defended by the current Labour government, it is actually the result of legislation passed by the Conservatives in 2023 – which Labour did not support at the time, arguing it didn't go far enough. Michael and John joined by former Conservative MP Miriam Cates who defends the core aims and principles at the heart of the Act. They debate the principles of Big Tech, the risks of government overreach and whether freedom of expression is under threat. Produced by Megan McElroy and Patrick Gibbons.

'Nicola Sturgeon most feared figure in UK politics'
'Nicola Sturgeon most feared figure in UK politics'

The Herald Scotland

time3 hours ago

  • The Herald Scotland

'Nicola Sturgeon most feared figure in UK politics'

However, she criticised the former SNP's leader's handling of the party, saying that the structure of the SNP had "never grown or adapted" under Ms Sturgeon's watch. Her comments come as the former SNP MP and ex-Westminster deputy leader for the party, Ms Black, recently revealed to The Herald she had left the SNP because she was unhappy with the direction it had taken. READ MORE: Mhairi Black: 'I thought politics would be about team work' Mhairi Black leaves SNP after disagreeing with party direction Asked by the paper how Ms Sturgeon's legacy would be judged, Ms Black said: 'Undoubtedly no one can take away that she reached levels of influence and popularity and fear that I don't think anyone else has in recent memory … I can't think of anybody who has had that kind of impact, certainly on UK politics.' She recalled the atmosphere in Westminster during Ms Sturgeon's visits: 'They were terrified of her, absolutely terrified. When she was in the building it spread like wildfire. You could see they're actually quite shaken at the very fact that she's here in person.' Ms Black praised Ms Sturgeon as a skilled political operator. She said: 'I've always said I think she is possibly the best politician I can think of UK-wide as to competency and being able to answer a question. I've never seen her shaken. She was always unflappable and I know from experience how difficult that is to do. So, as a politician I thought she was s**t hot.' The former MP, who stood down at the last general election, was more critical of Ms Sturgeon's record as party leader — especially on internal reform. 'As the leader of a political party, I thought she could have done so much better,' Ms Black said. 'The same is true of Alex Salmond when he was in charge and even John Swinney now. "The actual structure of the party has never grown or adapted to that influx of membership, which I think has actually played a role in why a lot of folk have turned away from the party. It's because the structure just wasn't there to give people the kind of membership they were craving.' Last week, Ms Black said there had been "too many times" where she did not agree with decisions and strategies made by her former party, adding: "There are better organisations that I could be giving a membership to than this one." The former MP said her party's "capitulation" on LGBT rights and trans rights in particular was one of the main reasons which motivated her to leave the party. Ms Black was first elected to Westminster in 2015 aged 20, ousting Labour's Douglas Alexander as MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire South. She later served as Deputy Leader of the SNP in the House of Commons from 2022 to 2024 and she stood down ahead of the general election last year, citing safety concerns, social media abuse and unsociable hours. Outside of her party, Ms Black criticised UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer for 'believing in nothing'. She said: 'The guy believes in nothing. I've no doubt that he goes home and convinces himself that he's a very practical, reasonable set of hands who is guiding us through a very turbulent time. I just think it's rubbish." The former [[SNP]] member described Reform leader Nigel Farage as "poisonous" and the UK's version of Donald Trump. Ms Black said: 'He's the British Trump. Poisonous. I have absolutely nothing nice to say about him. How far have we fallen as a society when all it takes is a millionaire in a cravat holding a pint and suddenly we're like, 'Oh, yes, you must have my interests at heart?'' Read the full interview with Mhairi Black in The Herald Magazine.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store