Sir Keir married Victoria Alexander in 2007 and they have two teenage children who have been effectively kept away from the often crazed glare of modern publicity.
The Labour Party were voted back into power last summer. In the three years before that election, Sir Keir had done a great job of remodelling the party - rooting out the excesses of left wing extremism to make the party electable once again.
Once a very successful lawyer, he became our country's Director of Public Prosecutions in 2008. In that role, he had many thorny legal cases to handle - including dealing with terrorists from Northern Ireland and elsewhere. In this job, he proved himself to be a great team leader and a dedicated public servant.
Until quite recently, Keir loved playing football and he has always been a keen Arsenal supporter. His love affair with football goes back to his boyhood whereas most Conservative politicians are only pretend supporters - perhaps thinking incorrectly that this might endear them to the general public.
Football is of course a team game in which every club pulls together - including coaching staff, groundsmen, cleaners and last but not least - the players. Keir recognises that in the way that he does politics. It's not all about him. He can only be a good leader with a good team to lead.
Historically, Labour is really the only political party that has ever consciously tried to improve the lot of ordinary men and women. Whereas Labour is proud of its strong links with trade unions, the ruling class - spearheaded by The Conservative Party - frequently try to use this connection as a weapon to beat Labour with.
Little more than six months have passed since Labour came back into power. Of course from the outset, Conservative-leaning media channels have sought to denigrate Labour's best efforts to get a grip on the nation's economic well-being and future prospects. It has not helped that they have had to address the damage caused by the Conservative-led "Brexit" from The European Union.
Last Thursday, Sir Keir Starmer had the exceedingly difficult task of meeting the new American president without vomiting. On the agenda was the Ukraine war and trading relations between our countries. It is widely agreed that Sir Keir walked that difficult tightrope with diplomatic aplomb. However, the following day he had to watch the Ukraine crisis deepen with the metaphorical mugging of President Zelenskyy in the Oval Office.
Keir Starmer is a good man, leading this country through troubling times. Unlike the cartoon character known as Boris Johnson, Keir does his homework and seeks to lead us forward with dignity and professionalism. There will be more ruts in the road ahead and more mud-slinging from right wingers and their newspapers but I believe he has the character, resilience and outlook necessary to deal effectively with future political challenges while always keeping an eye on the well-being of ordinary citizens - the very reason he entered politics in the first place.
We need more people like Starmer in this world. I call them salt of the earth. they discover what's necessary and then go out and do it.
ReplyDeleteIt is good to see a decent, pragmatic man at the helm no matter how the right wing try to undermine him.
DeleteHe seems like a decent honorable man.
ReplyDeleteQuite different from your political leader... or should I say golfer!
DeleteI don't know much about your new prime minister, so thanks for this info! Watching the British Tories from afar over the past years, it seems they just stumbled from one stupid move to the next.
ReplyDeleteFourteen years of misguided rule with Brexit thrown in for good measure.
DeletePerhaps Keir Starmer could send a step-by-step playbook to our Labor (without the 'u') to show them how it is done! And hopefully they would copy and learn. We seem to be run by a bunch of bumbling fools at the moment. Thankfully none as bumbling as Trump.
ReplyDeleteFrom afar, Australia still seems like a successful, modern law-abiding country heading in the right direction
DeleteDignity and professionalism - I don't expect nothing more from any politician, but sadly, both terms seem to be completely unknown to some of them.
ReplyDeleteTo some it is all about ego.
DeleteBravo!
ReplyDeleteGlad you agree Jan.
Deleteyeah i am with you on this one - my only criticism of Keir is that he sometimes tends to just grin and tough it out during uncomfortable bits of interviews - he just doesn't appear "natural" at times..... i am aware he's had some acting lessons to get over his "wooden" style of delivery...... hopefully he settles down once a bit of the current heat is off?
ReplyDeleteHe is still settling into the role. His achilles heel is his honesty.
DeleteIt's a tough job, and his health is probably the worse for it. He looks to be putting on weight. I hope he gets a good break soon.
ReplyDeletePhysically, he has good core strength - a legacy of all that football. With a nice family behind him and passion in his heart, I believe that he will stand the test of time.
DeleteI agree wholeheartedly.
ReplyDeleteThat is because you are astute.
DeleteYou obviously think highly of him. It will be nice if the working person can get a bit of a go.
ReplyDeleteEven nicer if somebody is thinking of the good of the country
The Conservatives passed him and his team a chalice that was filled with difficulties.
DeleteI've managed to memorize his name now :) ... It was refreshing to see his welcoming of Zelenskyj after that disastrous ending of the meeting in the White House.
ReplyDeleteThe contrast between Keir Starmer and the "man baby" in The White House could not be more stark.
DeleteI only know anything about Sir Keef Stammer from English media, and there seems to be a hate on him, and his performance has been very disappointing. But that I've heard little about him means he is not making waves, and hopefully quietly achieving good things for your country.
ReplyDeleteGood or not so good, he is far better than than Boris buffoon. At least former PM Rich Snuk conducted himself dignity when in office.
The reason I wrote this post was partly inspired by all the nasty treatment he has received from the right wing. The majority of Labour voters - myself included - remain supportive of Keir Starmer but our voices are seldom heard.
DeleteI am glad that the Labour party is in power. Boris Johnson, to me, seemed a bit tRump-like. I loved it when he gave Zelenskyy that big hug.
ReplyDeleteYes. I am so glad that Johnson has gone. I said from the start that he was mainly in it so that he could write his memoirs.
DeleteI think his heart is in the right place, very British thing to say I know. He inherited a terrible burden from the Tories and is taking some strong measures to bring us more in line with the world. And I am grateful for that.
ReplyDeleteAnd now The American President has changed some key parameters, making the political "game" even harder to play.
DeleteCan we arrange a trade, the UK gets HWSNBN plus players to be named, and we get you PM?
ReplyDeleteWe can put HWSNBN in a sideshow at one of our fairgrounds. But no - you may not have Sir Keir.
DeleteSounds like you are happy with your leader, Neil. How lucky you are to have a good man in charge. Ours is a disgusting, babbling, self-centered maniac.
ReplyDeleteI think you are being too kind to your leader Ellen.
DeleteAnd perhaps eventually, if Trump doesn't blow up the world, we here in the US may elect a similar good person to lead us.
ReplyDeleteThe Democrats should be doing their groundwork right now.
DeleteHe's not a Christian Socialist like Keir Hardie. I am not impressed with him so far. I don't believe in nuclear power or weapons.
ReplyDeleteWatch this space.
DeleteRather a biased eulogy? You gloss over Two Tier Kier's ability to adopt and discard any position on any topic that he thinks will advance his own personal position. And, let's not forget that he has the unique distinction of having had his own personal act of Parliament passed to protect his obscene pension from the same limitations that mere mortals have to suffer.
ReplyDeleteI certainly do not see Keir Starmer in the way that you do Will as I prefer to see the good in him - a counterbalance to the right wing carping that pursues him as expected.
DeleteSir Kier - that scion of a working class family, the tool-makers son, except that the tool-maker was the factory owner, and his son attended a fee-paying school, so not so "working class" in reality was he.
ReplyDeleteKeir Starmer passed the eleven plus and won a place at Reigate Grammar School which was voluntary aided. It only became a fully fee-paying school after he had been there for three or four years. At sixteen he won a bursary which allowed him to remain at the school in order to pursue his A levels. At no time did his parents ever have to pay school fees for him.
DeleteAs far as I can work out, Keir's Father Rod did indeed go it alone in toolmaking and developed his own little workshop in Oxted which he called The Oxted Toolmaking Company having been previously employed as a shop floor toolmaker. Good on him for giving it a go!
I have not seen much in the news here of your Prime Minister until his recent visit to the U.S. and then his welcome of Zelenskyy to the UK, but I had positive feelings based on those two things alone. It's good to get a summary from you. Your point about his teenaged children being kept out of the limelight also impresses me. I think some things speak volumes.
ReplyDeleteIt's never easy for him but he holds his head up high.
DeleteFrom far-off Australia can't really say I share your enthusiasm.
ReplyDeleteI think KS was duplicitous in his pre-leadership statements, judged by his subsequent treatment of Corbyn and the Labour left. (I consider the whole anti-semitism thing which was used against Corbyn to be total bullshit.)
The other thing which tells for me is this. Are police your friend? A policeman (quaint term) is never your friend. Take as a litmus test the scenario if you report a crime to police. You may think they are your champion and even your friend, but if when investigating the case they find out something about you, they are duty bound also to prosecute you. It's their job. It's also their mindset. Their main solution to something (apart from the times where they represent the state's monopoly on organized violence before the hussars can be summoned) is to prosecute and punish.
If a policeman is not, how can a prosecutor be? Yes I realise we have to have both, but it still doesn't make me warm to people who want to be either. Sure, you can think of prosecutors as acting for the people as victims against the perpetrators, but the criminal law is so skewiff there is too much that precludes my being able to feel that a prosecutor can be the people's friend. (Same for Kamala Harris, btw.)
Agree Starmer is a capable professional (apart from his incapacity to see why he shouldn't accept favours from rich and powerful sponsors) and he and his government are better than or (same thing really) less bad than the Tory alternative.
Interesting reflections Marcellous. Thank you.
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ReplyDeleteI guess you had been swearing?
DeleteLol. Duplicate comment.
DeleteFor a moment I thought you were serious. Yes, very comical. Or at least it would be if KS wasn't making such an awful mess of things. Thanks for the giggle.
ReplyDeleteI was being completely serious. My take on Keir Starmer was partly ignited by right wing dissing which I sometimes see filtering into your blog. I have always been a proud and unashamed socialist.
DeleteGood for you. I'm proud to be 'middle-of-the-Road', and see all sides for what they are.
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