UK’s New Prime Minister Keir Starmer Pledges Action Over Words

Keir Starmer has been appointed as the new Prime Minister after Labour’s landslide victory, ending 14 years of Conservative rule. In his first speech outside Downing Street, Starmer emphasized the urgency of the work ahead, pledging to get started immediately. Earlier, Rishi Sunak resigned as Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader, acknowledging the public’s anger after a disastrous election result.

Britain’s new prime minister, Keir Starmer, pledged to take action to fix the country on Friday, while warning voters that improvements would take time.

Standing outside Number 10 Downing Street, Starmer acknowledged the challenges ahead following his party’s landslide victory, which ended 14 years of Conservative rule.

He was greeted with cheers and took time to shake hands and hug aides and well-wishers before making his speech. Addressing the public, he emphasized the need for actions, not just words, to rebuild trust in politics after years of scandal and chaos under the Conservatives. “This lack of trust can only be healed by actions, not words. I know that,” he said.

Who is Keir Starmer?

Starmer was born in 1962 in London, England, to a father who worked as a toolmaker and a mother who worked as a nurse.

The 61-year-old has often referenced his modest beginnings as a point of connection with British voters and says his mother’s lifelong battle with a severe illness gave him a deep gratitude for the National Health Service (NHS).

Starmer was the first in his family to go to university, studying law at the University of Leeds. After postgraduate studies at the University of Oxford, Starmer began working as a barrister — or British trial attorney — in 1987, taking on high-profile cases, including against Shell, McDonald’s and former Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s mine closures.

In 2008, a year after marrying his wife, Victoria, Starmer became director of public prosecutions, putting him at the head of the U.K.’s Crown Prosecution Service.

Starmer was knighted in 2014 for his services to criminal justice and was elected to Parliament the following year, serving as immigration minister and Brexit minister for the opposition.

In 2020, he was appointed Labour leader and instigated a major overhaul of the party after the resignation of Jeremy Corbyn, who led the faction to record loss in the 2019 election.