The Daily Telegraph - Saturday
Who does he think he is? Starmer admits he got on his wife’s nerves the day their paths crossed
Labour leader describes how his relationship with media-shy Victoria did not have the ‘best of starts’
SIR KEIR STARMER has revealed that his wife ended their first conversation by snapping “who the f--- does he think he is?”
In an interview with British Vogue, the Labour leader said he didn’t have the “best of starts” with his future spouse, Victoria, as he managed to annoy her straight away.
The pair first spoke over the phone, when Sir Keir called “Vic”, a former solicitor, to question her on the accuracy of some documents.
Before he hung up, he overheard her say to her colleague: “Who the f--- does he think he is?”
He told the magazine: “You might think ‘not the best of starts,’ but it was absolutely classic Vic.
“Very sassy, very down to earth, no nonsense from anyone, including from me.”
When they first met, he was a barrister and she was a solicitor. They have been married now for more than 15 years, having tied the knot in 2007. They have two teenage children.
Carolyn Harris, a Labour MP and family friend, said the remarks were “very much” characteristic of Sir Keir’s wife, who now works for the NHS. Giving her take on the couple to
British Vogue, she said that Mrs Starmer was “a litmus paper, literally the yin to his yan”.
Turning to the Labour leader, she said: “I would never introduce someone to Keir and think, ‘I hope he doesn’t sound too stuffy for them’. I would take him to a spit-and-sawdust pub, much as I would to The Savoy.
“He’s up for a laugh and easily amused. Give him what he loves, which is football and his family, and he’s happy.”
Sir Keir told Vogue he makes sure to carve out family time every week, including Friday night dinners, which are “off limits for work”.
He said his children “rib me relentlessly” and “laugh at me, which is great”.
“The moment I walk in the door, I’m Dad, and that’s it. The rest has to be left at the door,” he added.
Sir Keir has previously described his wife as his “complete support”.
He told Sky News: “She doesn’t do anything publicly. She wants to get on with her job; she works for the NHS…
“All of that I do, I talk through with Vic. All the big decisions [are] ones which we sit and talk through at home and that is a good thing, except I’m not sure she signed up for this.”
The Labour leader is fiercely protective of his children’s privacy, refusing to publicly name them, and has admitted he is worried for their welfare in the run-up to the election.
“We don’t name them in public, we don’t do photographs with them. They go to the local school,” he told Sky in last month’s interview.
“I just desperately try to protect them in that way, but I know it’s going to be harder and I do worry about that.”
In the British Vogue interview, the Labour leader suggested he was well-qualified to make tough calls for the country, given his previous experience making life and death decisions as a lawyer.
As a barrister, Sir Keir worked with prisoners on death row across Africa and the Caribbean.
He said: “People often say in politics, ‘Are you tough enough to make the tough decisions?’
“My answer to that is: ‘Look, if you’ve sat in a cell with someone and had to make the decision about their case which could result in them living or dying, then you’ve had to take some tough decisions.’“
In pictures for the interview, shot in Parliament Hill in North London, Sir Keir appears to be wearing a £150 jacket and £119.95 trainers from Charles Tyrwhitt, a brand founded by Brexiteer Nick Wheeler.
Mrs Starmer is dressed in a Toteme coat, worth £1,030, a Whistles jumper currently selling for £85, and £89.99 Tommy Hilfiger trainers.
‘It was classic Vic. Very sassy, very down to earth, no nonsense from anyone, including from me’