Keir Starmer, the leader of the Labour Party, is poised to become the next Prime Minister of the United Kingdom after his party secured a decisive victory in the general election on Thursday.
Exit polls suggest a landslide win for Labour, dealing a major blow to the incumbent Conservative government led by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
Starmer, a 61-year-old former lawyer and director of public prosecutions, has spent the past four years working to make Labour a more centrist and electable party after its heavy defeat in the 2019 election under the previous leader, Jeremy Corbyn.
Starmer grew up in a working-class family, with his mother working for the National Health Service and his father being a toolmaker.
After university, he had a successful legal career before entering politics in 2015. As Labour leader, Starmer has sought to distance the party from its left-wing factions, suspending Corbyn over comments about antisemitism in the party.
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While criticized by some on the left for backtracking on certain policy pledges, Starmer’s more moderate approach appears to have paid off, with voters seemingly drawn to his promise of stability and a “down payment” on delivering key priorities like reducing NHS waiting lists and recruiting more teachers and police officers.
He has also vowed to negotiate a better deal with the European Union to mitigate the economic damage of Brexit.
Barring any last-minute surprises, Starmer is poised to take over as Prime Minister, inheriting a country with deep economic and social challenges, including record levels of child poverty.
His supporters hope his steady leadership can help restore trust in British politics after years of turmoil under the Conservatives.
