As Britain goes to the polls this Thursday, Leader of the Opposition Labour Party Keir Starmer is primed for the position of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The bald man, whose eyes are hidden with goggles of frame and spectacles from a common working-class background, is now on the cusp of 10 Downing Street and is 61.
Starmer is the son of a toolmaker, father, and nurse mother from a decidedly non-privileged background. He could hardly be more different from the picture painted by his opponents of a smug, metropolitan, middle-class lawyer. Still, he is a geeky icon with greaser-like hair in a neat quiff, grey shirt, and black-rimmed glasses.
Starmer had a career path in politics relatively later in life, unlike some other politicians, but his ambition has been a long-time friend. He was elected to parliament in 2015 and then rapidly became the Leader of the Labour Party in early 2020 after the catastrophic general election loss with Jeremy Corbyn.
Since then, Starmer has driven Labour fiercely to the center again, removed Corbyn’s supporters, and combatted anti-Semitism within the party. The left points at him and accuses him of betrayal, but if it were not for this tactical shift of gears, Labour would not be in good stead to regain power.
Therefore, as Britain awaits the vote, one can recall Starmer’s history, persistence, and hard work. Whether he can translate that into victory remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: this leader has not spared any chance of coming up with a genuine problem.
