Who is Labour’s Keir Starmer and who could be Britain’s new leader?

LONDON – Britain is expected to elect its first Labor prime minister in 14 years, with the opposition expected to win a landslide victory in the July 4 election.

Keir Starmer is set to take over the country’s top job from Rishi Sunak, with exit polls suggesting his centre-left party could have a majority of around 170 seats.

Starmer, 61, has risen rapidly in political prominence since entering Britain’s parliament less than a decade ago. But many Britons still know little about the man who has positioned himself as a candidate for change in the country.

CNBC explores Britain’s new prime minister and his platform.

Starmer was born in London, England, in 1962. His father was a toolmaker and his mother was a nurse.

The 61-year-old often refers to his humble beginnings as a point of connection with British voters and says his mother’s lifelong battle with serious illness left him deeply grateful for the NHS .

Starmer was the first in his family to go to university, studying law at Leeds University. After completing postgraduate studies at Oxford University, Starmer began working as a barrister (that is, a British barrister) in 1987, taking on high-profile cases, including against Shell, McDonald’s and former Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher mine closure case.

Starmer also served as human rights adviser during former Labor Prime Minister Tony Blair’s landmark Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland.

Starmer became director of public prosecutions in 2008, a year after marrying his wife Victoria, as head of the Crown Prosecution Service.

Starmer was knighted in 2014 for services to criminal justice and was elected to parliament the following year, serving as the opposition’s immigration minister and Brexit minister.

He was appointed leader of the Labor Party in 2020 and launched a major overhaul of the party following the resignation of Jeremy Corbyn, who led the faction to a crushing defeat in the 2019 general election.

During the 2024 election campaign, Starmer declared that the country would usher in a “decade of national regeneration”, which Labor said follows years of spending cuts and falling living standards under the Conservatives.

In the party’s election manifesto, released last month, Starmer outlined spending measures to create a new publicly owned energy company, reduce NHS waiting times, build new homes and renationalize rail services.

But he has also positioned himself as a staunchly pro-business figure, continuing his years-long charm offensive with traditionally right-leaning voters, laying out plans for “wealth creation” and a national wealth fund.

“Economic growth and social justice must go hand in hand,” Starmer said at the launch of the manifesto.

Labor has outlined five long-term missions after taking power: driving economic growth, investing in green energy, overhauling the NHS, creating safer streets and delivering “opportunity” through a new skills agenda. Labor officials told the Financial Times that Starmer is planning a sweeping shake-up of government departments to achieve these goals.

Starmer, who voted for the Remain campaign rather than Leave in the 2016 Brexit referendum, has also pledged to improve the “bad” UK-EU deal, including in areas such as trade, research and security. However, he insisted there was no reason for the UK to rejoin the EU.

Despite his transformative agenda, Starmer is still seen by many as an establishment figure who lacks the charisma of other politicians. YouGov polls earlier this year showed his public popularity trailed that of reformist Nigel Farage, while his support among younger voters fell further.

Critics have also questioned Starmer’s core values ​​- for example, he remains on Corbyn’s senior team despite Corbyn facing accusations of antisemitism within the Labor Party. Starmer later suspended Corbyn from the party. Others accuse him of betraying the left, courting business leaders and abandoning promises such as abolishing college tuition.

However, after a rocky few years in British politics – with three different Conservative prime ministers in 2022 alone – Starmer’s supporters see him as a stable centrist figure after major political upheavals .

—CNBC’s Katrina Bishop contributed to this report.