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Victoria Starmer

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Victoria Starmer
Starmer in 2024
Born
Victoria Alexander

1973 or 1974 (age 49–50)
London, England
Other names"Lady Vic"
Education
Alma materCardiff University (LL.B.)
Occupations
  • Solicitor
  • Occupational health worker
Known forSpouse of the prime minister of the United Kingdom (2024–present)
Political partyLabour
Spouse
​
(m. 2007)​
Children2

Victoria, Lady Starmer (née Alexander; born 1973 or 1974) is a British former solicitor and the wife of Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and leader of the Labour Party. As of July 2024, she works for the National Health Service (NHS) as an occupational health worker.

Early life

Starmer was born Victoria Alexander in London in 1973 or 1974, and raised in Gospel Oak, north west London. Her father Bernard, an economics lecturer, is an observant Jew who was born in Hackney in 1929 to a Polish-Jewish family that migrated to the United Kingdom before World War II.[1] Her mother, Barbara, who died in 2020, was a community doctor in the National Health Service (NHS) and converted to Judaism upon marriage.[2][3] Starmer has an older sister, Judith.[4]

She was educated at Channing School in Highgate, London,[5] and later graduated with degrees in law and sociology from Cardiff University, where she was president of the student union from 1994 to 1995.[1]

Career

Starmer qualified as a solicitor four years after graduating, and worked for Hodge Jones & Allen, a Soho law firm specialising in street crime.[1] Since getting married, she has worked as an occupational health worker for the NHS.[6][7]

Starmer ministry

Victoria with Keir Starmer outside 10 Downing Street after his election victory and appointment, July 2024

After the Labour Party's landslide victory in the 2024 general election, Starmer accompanied her husband to Buckingham Palace to meet King Charles III for his formal appointment as Prime Minister. Afterwards, she accompanied him to 10 Downing Street where he made his first speech as PM.[8]

Starmer will reportedly continue in her role at the NHS and is expected to keep a relatively low profile.[9]

Personal life

Starmer has been a supporter of the Labour Party since at least her student years, notably protesting against the education reforms of the then-Tory education secretary John Patten during her tenure as Cardiff University's education and welfare officer in 1993.[1]

Victoria met Keir Starmer, who was then a senior barrister with Doughty Street Chambers, in the early 2000s, reportedly saying "Who the fuck does he think he is?" after their first conversation.[10] The two eventually became close, getting engaged in 2004 and married on 6 May 2007 on the Fennes Estate in Essex.[1][11] The couple have two children, a son, who was born a year after their wedding, and a daughter, born two years after that. Both are being brought up in the Jewish faith of their mother.[12][13]

After her husband was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in the 2014 New Year Honours for services to law and justice by Queen Elizabeth II, Victoria is officially known as "Lady Starmer". Until moving to Downing Street, the couple resided in Kentish Town, north London.[14][15]

Starmer is a vegetarian. She and her husband raised their children as vegetarians until they were 10 years old, at which point they were given the option of eating meat.[16] She and her family occasionally attend a liberal synagogue.[17]

She kept a relatively low profile during the 2024 general election, chosing not to appear on the campaign trail. She did, however, make appearances at Labour conferences and state banquets which were held during the campaign.[18] Reportedly, Labour Party staff refer to her as "Lady Vic".[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Strick, Katie (2 July 2024). "Victoria Starmer: the no-nonsense solicitor set to become Britain's next first lady". The Standard. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
  2. ^ "Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine Death Notices". Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. 113 (6): 238. June 2020. doi:10.1177/0141076820934729. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  3. ^ "NHS Leadership Academy Coaching Register 2013-2014" (PDF). NHS Leadership Academy. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  4. ^ Fraser, Tali (22 May 2024). "A future First Lady? With prime ministerial power in reach for Sir Keir Starmer, his wife Victoria could emerge from her north London cocoon into the global limelight. But who is she?". Tatler. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  5. ^ Baldwin, Tom (17 February 2024). "The private life of Keir Starmer — his wife and family reveal all". The Times. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  6. ^ "Keir Starmer: The sensible radical". New Statesman. 31 March 2020. Archived from the original on 5 April 2020.
  7. ^ Pickard, Jim (7 May 2020). "Keir Starmer: 'The government has been slow in nearly all of the major decisions'". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 15 June 2020.
  8. ^ Franks, Josephine (6 July 2024). "Meet Victoria Starmer, the new prime minister's wife". Sky News. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  9. ^ Thomson, Alice (8 June 2024). "Meet Victoria Starmer, Keir's wife and most trusted adviser". The Times. Retrieved 9 June 2024.
  10. ^ Franks, Josephine. "Meet Victoria Starmer, the new prime minister's wife". Sky News. Archived from the original on 5 July 2024. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  11. ^ "What do we know about Sir Keir Starmer's wife, Lady Starmer?". Tatler. 24 April 2020. Archived from the original on 18 August 2020.
  12. ^ Harpin, Lee (16 November 2020). "Starmer: Our kids are being brought up to know their Jewish backgrounds". The Jewish Chronicle. Archived from the original on 25 September 2022.
  13. ^ Riann, Phillip (5 July 2024). "Who Is Victoria Starmer, Britain's New "First Lady"?". Vogue.
  14. ^ Thomson, Alice (8 June 2024). "Meet Victoria Starmer, Keir's wife and most trusted adviser". The Times. Archived from the original on 9 June 2024. Retrieved 9 June 2024.
  15. ^ "Keir Starmer's wife: Who is Lady Starmer?". Sky News. 10 October 2023. Archived from the original on 27 May 2024. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  16. ^ Holl-Allen, Genevieve (26 July 2023). "Sir Keir Starmer: I didn't let my children eat meat until they were 10". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 8 October 2023. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  17. ^ Edwardes, Charlotte (22 June 2024). "'You asked me questions I've never asked myself': Keir Starmer's most personal interview yet". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 5 July 2024. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
  18. ^ "Victoria Starmer: Who is the new PM Keir Starmer's wife?". BBC News. 5 July 2024. Retrieved 6 July 2024.

External links

Media related to Victoria Starmer at Wikimedia Commons

Unofficial roles
Preceded by Spouse of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
2024–present 		Incumbent
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