Keir Starmer, from ‘lefty lawyer’ to UK prime minister

LONDON: The cover of the UK Labour Party’s election manifesto features a black and white photograph of leader Keir Starmer - sleeves rolled up, the serious look beneath his trademark grey quiff exuding a steely determination - alongside the single word “Change”.

But after six weeks under the campaign spotlight - and four years after taking the helm of Labour - to many, the new British prime minister remains something of an unknown quantity.

After the scandals of the Boris Johnson years and the financial meltdown of Liz Truss’s infamous mini-budget, voters may be clear that they have had enough of the Conservative Party, but enthusiasm for the new man can seem muted, with many uncertain about what exactly is the “change” he represents.

One of the charges most frequently thrown at Starmer by opponents during the campaign was that he is a political trimmer who has all too frequently changed his mind on key issues - from public ownership to what is a woman.

When Jeremy Corbyn was arguably the most left-wing leader in the party’s history, he served alongside him in the shadow cabinet, campaigning for him to become prime minister in two general elections.

Starmer ran for the Labour leadership in the wake of its crushing 2019 election defeat, standing on a left-leaning platform with commitments to renationalise water services and energy and scrap university tuition fees.