Samantha Donovan: So who is the UK's new Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer? Sarah Maunder prepared this report.
Sarah Maunder: Plain, vanilla, dull, and boring. These are the kinds of words that have been used to describe Britain's new Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer.
Boris Johnson: Any one of them would like to fall with Captain Crash-a-rooni Snoozefest... Mr Speaker.
Sarah Maunder: That was former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson back in 2022, speaking about Keir Starmer in the House of Commons. Stephen Fielding is an emeritus professor at the University of Nottingham.
Steven Fielding: He is a bit dull. He's quite ordinary in many ways. I mean, his background is extremely ordinary in the context of British politics. He's state educated from a relatively ordinary working class family. And his career has been really defined by hard work and application.
Sarah Maunder: Although UK politics has been quite tumultuous for a few years, a global pandemic, the death of Queen Elizabeth, and a revolving door of three conservative prime ministers in 2022, Keir Starmer's measured persona didn't help him in the lead up to the election.
Steven Fielding: When you're a leader of the main opposition party, you want to get attention. You want to be able to get people to be excited in what you want to offer. He hasn't really been able to articulate excitement.
Sarah Maunder: Keir Starmer was born in 1962. He comes from a small town called Oxted in Surrey, south of London. His father was a toolmaker and his mother was a nurse. He was the first in his family to go to university. And in a video posted to his YouTube channel, he reflects on his decision to study law.
Keir Starmer: I was interested in politics and how things work. I didn't really know what lawyers did.
Sarah Maunder: After university, he spent 20 years as a human rights lawyer, where he often took on David and Goliath type cases and had a reputation for being a lefty. During his legal career, he joined Australian lawyer Geoffrey Robertson Casey to establish the Doughty Street Chambers in 1990, described as Europe's largest human rights practice. There was a rumor that Keir Starmer was the inspiration for human rights barrister Mark Darcy, the stuffy but sweet love interest of Bridget Jones, played by Colin Firth in the movie adaptation of the popular novel. Author Helen Fielding has since confirmed he was not the inspiration, but says Mark Darcy and Keir Starmer have a lot in common.
Archives: Perhaps despite appearances, I like you just as you are.
Sarah Maunder: In 2008, Keir Starmer became Britain's director of public prosecutions and was awarded a knighthood for services to criminal justice, making him the first Labour leader to have the prefix, sir. Karl Pike is a lecturer in public policy at Queen Mary University in London and believes it shouldn't be too surprising that when Keir Starmer entered politics in 2015, he came with centre left ideals.
Karl Pike: He is very centre left in a quite traditional social democratic sense. But it's also fair to say that he's changed his mind a lot. You know, he ran to be leader of the Labour Party with a quite left platform. He rapidly ditched that after he became leader. He's changed his mind in quite a whole series of big policy areas, including big commitments from the Labour Party to spend money on green investment, for example.
Sarah Maunder: During his time in opposition, the then Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, accused Keir Starmer of failing to prosecute Jimmy Saville when he was director of public prosecutions. Jimmy Saville, a television presenter, was revealed to be a predatory sex offender after his death in 2011. But Mr Johnson's allegations against Keir Starmer proved to be unfounded.
Boris Johnson: This leader of the opposition, a former director of public prosecutions, Mr Speaker, he spent most of his time prosecuting journalists and failing to prosecute Jimmy Saville. As far as I can make out, Mr Speaker.
Sarah Maunder: At the last UK election in 2019, Labour, then led by veteran left wing politician Jeremy Corbyn, suffered its worst election loss since the 1930s. Karl Pike from the Queen Mary University of London says Keir Starmer inherited a nightmare when he took over the party in 2020.
Karl Pike: And you can't take anything away from him that he's managed to put Labor in this incredible position.
Sarah Maunder: Keir Starmer now faces the daunting task of steering the UK through a number of ongoing challenges, including a cost of living crisis and a struggling National Health Service. Stephen Fielding from the University of Nottingham thinks Keir Starmer's boring personality may prove beneficial in the top job.
Steven Fielding: The characteristics which he possesses, and he's kind of careful, administrative sense of what he wants to achieve. He's been very clear that the Labor Party in government will be part of a decade of national renewal. He's got a 10 year programme to get Britain back on track. Stephen Fielding from the University of Nottingham.
Samantha Donovan: That report from Sarah Maunder.
