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Victoria Starmer

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Victoria Starmer
Headshot of a woman with light brown hair, wearing a white dress, and smiling as she boards a plane.
Starmer in 2024
Born
Victoria Alexander

1973 or 1974 (age 50–51)
London, England
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 the spouse of the prime minister of the United Kingdom Keir Starmer. She previously worked as a solicitor and currently works for the National Health Service (NHS) as an occupational health worker.

Early life and career

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Starmer was born Victoria Alexander in either 1973 or 1974 in London. Along with an elder sister, she was raised in Gospel Oak, London.[1] Her father Bernard, an economics lecturer and chartered accountant, was born in 1929 to a Polish-Jewish family that emigrated to the United Kingdom prior to the Second World War. Her mother Barbara (died 2020) was a community doctor in the NHS who converted to Judaism upon marriage.[2][3]

Alexander was educated at Channing School in Highgate, London,[4] and later studied law and sociology from Cardiff University, where she served as president of the student union.[2] After graduating from university, Alexander qualified as a solicitor and worked for Hodge Jones & Allen, a law firm specialising in street crime.[2] At some point after her marriage, she stopped practising law and began working as an occupational health worker for the NHS.[5][6]

Personal life

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A woman in a red frock with her husband in a black suit standing in the front of a door and smiling.
Victoria and Keir Starmer outside 10 Downing Street, after the latter's appointment as prime minister

Alexander met Keir Starmer, then a senior barrister with Doughty Street Chambers, while working on the same case.[7] The pair became engaged in 2004 and married on 6 May 2007 on the Fennes Estate, just north of Bocking, Essex.[2][8] The couple have two children: a son (born 2008) and a daughter (born 2010); both are being brought up in their mother's Jewish heritage.[9][10] The family observe Shabbat.[11]

Starmer is a vegetarian. Their children were raised as vegetarians until they were 10 years old, at which point they were given the option of eating meat.[12] Until moving to 10 Downing Street, the family resided in Kentish Town, north London.[13][14]

Starmer has been a supporter of the Labour Party since at least her student years, notably protesting against the education reforms of the Conservative education secretary John Patten during her tenure as Cardiff University's education and welfare officer in 1993.[2] Despite this, she kept a relatively low profile during the 2024 general election, choosing not to appear on the campaign trail. She did, however, make appearances at Labour events and state banquets which were held during the campaign.[15]

Starmer ministry

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Following Labour's landslide victory in the 2024 general election, Starmer accompanied her husband to Buckingham Palace for his appointment as prime minister by King Charles III. She subsequently accompanied him to 10 Downing Street, where he made his first speech as PM.[16] She will reportedly continue in her role at the NHS, and is expected to keep a relatively low profile.[17]

The Daily Telegraph reported in September 2024 that Starmer had accepted two free tickets to attend an Eras Tour concert by the American singer Taylor Swift at Wembley Stadium earlier that year.[18] In the same month, her husband faced accusations of breaking parliamentary rules by not declaring £5,000 worth of clothes bought for her by the Labour donor Lord Alli.[19][20] The donations, which included a personal shopper and clothing alterations, were said to have occurred both before and after the general election.[21]

References

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  1. ^ 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. Archived from the original on 27 May 2024. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e Strick, Katie (2 July 2024). "Victoria Starmer: the no-nonsense solicitor set to become Britain's next first lady". The Standard. Archived from the original on 2 July 2024. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
  3. ^ "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. Archived from the original on 15 July 2024. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  4. ^ Baldwin, Tom (17 February 2024). "The private life of Keir Starmer — his wife and family reveal all". The Times. Archived from the original on 26 May 2024. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  5. ^ "Keir Starmer: The sensible radical". New Statesman. 31 March 2020. Archived from the original on 5 April 2020.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ "What do we know about Sir Keir Starmer's wife, Lady Starmer?". Tatler. 24 April 2020. Archived from the original on 18 August 2020.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ Riann, Phillip (5 July 2024). "Who is Victoria Starmer, Britain's new "First Lady"?". Vogue. Archived from the original on 5 July 2024. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ 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.
  14. ^ "Who is Lady Starmer? The reluctant political spouse who could be Sir Keir's secret weapon". The Daily Telegraph. 29 September 2021. Archived from the original on 5 July 2024. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  15. ^ "Victoria Starmer: Who is the new PM Keir Starmer's wife?". BBC News. 5 July 2024. Archived from the original on 5 July 2024. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  16. ^ Franks, Josephine (6 July 2024). "Meet Victoria Starmer, the new prime minister's wife". Sky News. Archived from the original on 6 July 2024. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  17. ^ 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.
  18. ^ Martin, Daniel; Ludlow, Mark (17 September 2024). "Lady Starmer accepted free Taylor Swift tickets worth hundreds of pounds". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 18 September 2024. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
  19. ^ Swinford, Steven; Alt, Charlotte (16 September 2024). "Victoria Starmer, PM's wife, had £5,000 of clothes paid for by donor". The Times. Archived from the original on 22 September 2024. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  20. ^ Badshah, Nadeem (14 September 2024). "Keir Starmer alleged to have broken rules over party donor's gifts to wife". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 21 September 2024. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
  21. ^ Catt, Helen; Atkinson, Emily (15 September 2024). "Starmer may have broken rules over donor's gifts to wife". BBC News. Archived from the original on 22 September 2024. Retrieved 15 September 2024.

Further reading

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Books

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Articles

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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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