Sir Keir Rodney Starmer was born on September 2, 1962. He is a British politician and lawyer who has been the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom since 2024 and the Leader of the Labour Party since 2020. He was the Leader of the Opposition from 2020 to 2024. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Holborn and St Pancras since 2015 and worked as Director of Public Prosecutions from 2008 to 2013.
He was born in Southwark, London, and grew up in Surrey. He became involved in politics as a teenager. He earned a law degree from the University of Leeds in 1985 and a postgraduate degree from St Edmund Hall, Oxford, in 1986. After becoming a lawyer, he worked mainly in criminal defense, focusing on human rights. He advised on human rights issues for the Northern Ireland Policing Board and was named a Queen’s Counsel in 2002. As Director of Public Prosecutions, he handled major cases, including the Stephen Lawrence murder case. In 2014, he was honored as a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath for his work in law and criminal justice.
He was elected to the House of Commons in 2015. He supported the Remain campaign during the 2016 European Union membership referendum and pushed for a second referendum on Brexit. He worked under Jeremy Corbyn as Shadow Brexit Secretary and became Labour leader after Corbyn resigned in 2020. As Labour’s leader, he shifted the party toward the political center and focused on reducing antisemitism. Labour gained support in the 2023 and 2024 local elections, even though the party’s membership had dropped in earlier years.
In the 2024 general election, Labour won a large victory, ending 14 years of Conservative government. This was the smallest majority in recorded history since 1830. During his time as Prime Minister, the government stopped some Winter Fuel Payments, released prisoners to reduce overcrowding, and resolved public-sector strikes. It created the Border Security Command to replace the Rwanda asylum plan and launched a National Violent Disorder Programme after riots in 2024. The government also limited visa conditions, closed legal migration routes, and made changes to planning rules, workers’ rights, and renters’ rights. It increased the minimum wage and invested in a new nuclear power station. In foreign affairs, he supported Ukraine during the war with Russia and backed Israel during the conflict in Gaza. He called for a ceasefire and the release of hostages and formally recognized the State of Palestine. His government signed free trade agreements with India, the European Union, and the United States and transferred sovereignty of the Chagos Archipelago to Mauritius after a ruling by the International Court of Justice.
Starmer is not popular with the public. His approval ratings started slightly positive but dropped to an average of -46% by November 2025, making him the least popular prime minister since 1977.
Early life and education
Keir Rodney Starmer was born on September 2, 1962, in Southwark, southeast London, and grew up in Oxted, Surrey. He was the second of four children of Josephine (née Baker), a nurse, and Rodney Starmer, a toolmaker. His mother developed Still's disease. She attended St. John's Anglican Church in nearby Hurst Green, while his father did not believe in any religion. Starmer was nominally "brought up Church of England." His parents both supported the Labour Party, and it is said they named him after Keir Hardie, the party's first parliamentary leader. However, Starmer did not confirm this when asked in 2015.
Starmer passed the 11-plus exam and was accepted into Reigate Grammar School, which was a grammar school that received some financial help at the time. The school changed into a private school that charged fees in 1976, while Starmer was a student. The rules of the change meant his parents did not have to pay for his schooling until he turned 16. When he reached that age, the school, now a charity, gave him a scholarship to continue his education there without any cost to his parents. In his final two years at school, he studied mathematics, music, and physics, earning B, B, and C grades in those subjects. Some of his classmates included Norman Cook (Fatboy Slim), with whom Starmer took violin lessons; Andrew Cooper, who later became a Conservative peer; and Andrew Sullivan, who became a conservative journalist. Starmer said he and Sullivan "fought over everything… Politics, religion. You name it."
During his teenage years, Starmer was active in Labour politics and joined the Labour Party Young Socialists at age 16. He won a junior exhibition from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where he played the flute, piano, recorder, and violin until he was 18. In the early 1980s, Starmer was caught by police for illegally selling ice cream while trying to raise money during a holiday on the French Riviera. He avoided punishment beyond the ice cream being taken away. As the first member of his family to attend university, Starmer studied law at the University of Leeds, where he joined the university's Labour Club. He graduated with a first-class LLB degree in 1985. He then studied jurisprudence at St. Edmund Hall, earning a Bachelor of Civil Law (BCL) degree from the University of Oxford in 1986. From 1986 to 1987, he worked as an editor for Socialist Alternatives, a Pabloite-Trotskyist magazine produced by an organization with the same name, which represented the British section of the International Revolutionary Marxist Tendency (IRMT).
Legal career
Starmer became a barrister in 1987 at the Middle Temple and was a bencher in 2009. He worked as a legal officer for the campaign group Liberty until 1990. After joining the Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers, he served as its secretary from 1988 to 1992, treasurer from 1992 to 1995, and an executive committee member from 1996 to 1999. As part of his work with the Haldane Society, he traveled to the Soviet Union in 1991, met the Russian chief justice Vyacheslav Lebedev, led the society’s delegation to Northern Ireland during the Troubles, and organized the UK delegation to the 14th Congress of the International Association of Democratic Lawyers in Cape Town in 1996, where he met President Nelson Mandela. In 1990, Starmer joined Doughty Street Chambers and focused on human rights cases.
Starmer was called to the Bar in several Caribbean countries, where he defended people sentenced to death. In 1999, he worked as a junior barrister on Lee Clegg’s appeal. He helped Helen Steel and David Morris in the McLibel case, including their trial and appeal in English courts and their case before the European Court of Human Rights. Starmer was appointed Queen’s Counsel on April 9, 2002, when he was 39. That same year, he became joint head of Doughty Street Chambers. In 2005, Starmer called his Queen’s Counsel appointment “odd” because he had previously supported ending the monarchy.
Starmer wrote legal opinions and protested the Iraq War after the 2003 invasion. In 2015, he said the war was not lawful under international law because no UN resolution authorized it. He defended one of the Fairford Five, who broke into an RAF base in 2003 to disrupt military operations at the start of the Iraq War.
Starmer worked as a human rights adviser to the Northern Ireland Policing Board and the Association of Chief Police Officers. He also served on the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s Death Penalty Advisory Panel from 2002 to 2008. The Northern Ireland Board helped unite communities after the Good Friday Agreement. Starmer later said his work on policing in Northern Ireland influenced his decision to enter politics: “Some of the things I thought needed to change in police services we achieved more quickly than we achieved in strategic litigation… I came better to understand how you can change by being inside and getting the trust of people.” Starmer represented Croatia at the International Court of Justice in 2014, arguing that Serbia aimed to take over part of Croatia’s territory during the 1990s war and remove the Croatian population.
In July 2008, Baroness Scotland, the Attorney General for England and Wales, named Starmer as the new Head of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). He replaced Ken Macdonald, who supported Starmer’s appointment, on November 1, 2008. Starmer focused on human rights in the legal system. In 2011, he introduced changes that included the first paperless hearing. During his time as DPP, Starmer handled major cases, such as the Stephen Lawrence murder case, where he ensured the murderers were brought to justice.
The US Attorney General, Eric Holder, reportedly asked Starmer to support the extradition of Gary McKinnon, a Scottish IT expert who hacked into US military databases in 2001. The extradition was later blocked by UK Prime Minister Theresa May.
In February 2010, Starmer announced that the CPS would prosecute three Labour MPs and a Conservative peer for false accounting after the parliamentary expenses scandal. All were found guilty. During the 2011 England riots, Starmer prioritized quick prosecutions of rioters over long sentences, which he said helped control the situation. In February 2012, Starmer announced that Chris Huhne would be prosecuted for perverting the course of justice, stating, “Where there is sufficient evidence, we do not shy away from prosecuting politicians.”
In 2012, journalist Nick Cohen claimed Starmer was responsible for allowing the prosecution of Paul Chambers in the “Twitter joke trial.” The CPS denied this, saying the decision was made by a Crown Court and not Starmer. When Jimmy Savile’s sexual abuse crimes were exposed in 2012, Starmer said, “It was like a dam had burst and people rightfully wanted to know why he had been allowed to get away with it for so long.” In 2013, Starmer changed how sexual abuse investigations were handled during Operation Yewtree, including creating a panel to review complaints.
Starmer left his role as Director of Public Prosecutions in November 2013, and Alison Saunders took over. Between 2011 and 2014, Starmer received several honorary degrees. In the 2014 New Year Honours, he was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) for “services to law and criminal justice.”
Early political career
In May 2015, Keir Starmer gave his first speech as a member of the House of Commons. Starmer was chosen in December 2014 as the Labour candidate for the Holborn and St Pancras constituency, a seat that Labour had long held. This decision followed the retirement of the area’s current MP, Frank Dobson. Starmer won the 2015 general election with 52.9% of the vote, securing a majority of 17,048 votes. He won again in 2017 with a larger majority of 30,509 votes (70.1%), in 2019 with a smaller majority of 27,763 votes (64.9%), and in 2024 with a further reduced majority of 18,884 votes (48.9%). This final election occurred during a national Labour victory and after Starmer became the UK’s prime minister.
During the 2016 European Union membership referendum, Starmer supported the campaign to keep the UK in the EU. He was a member of Labour groups that focused on relationships with Israel and Palestine, as well as the Middle East. After Labour’s 2015 election loss and the resignation of Ed Miliband as Labour leader, some activists encouraged Starmer to run for Labour leader. He declined, stating he lacked enough political experience at the time. During the leadership race, Starmer supported Andy Burnham, who came second to Jeremy Corbyn.
Starmer joined Jeremy Corbyn’s Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Home Office Minister in September 2015. He left this role in June 2016, along with many others, to protest against Corbyn’s leadership following the 2016 EU referendum result. After Corbyn won re-election as Labour leader in September 2016, Starmer accepted a new position as Shadow Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union. In this role, he questioned the UK government’s plans for leaving the EU, called for public details about Brexit strategies, and supported a proposal for a second EU referendum. After Labour’s 2019 election loss, Corbyn announced he would not lead Labour in the next election. Starmer gradually moved away from Corbyn’s leadership and policies, later stating in 2024 that he believed Labour would lose the 2019 election.
On January 4, 2020, Starmer announced his candidacy for Labour’s leadership election. He received support from former Labour prime minister Gordon Brown and London Mayor Sadiq Khan. During the leadership campaign, Starmer promoted a left-wing platform, opposing policies that cut public spending (austerity), and stated that Corbyn was correct in positioning Labour as the party against austerity. He pledged to continue Labour’s plan to remove university tuition fees and proposed public ownership of rail, mail, energy, and water companies. He also supported ending outsourcing in the NHS, local government, and the justice system. Starmer won the leadership contest on April 4, 2020, defeating Rebecca Long-Bailey and Lisa Nandy with 56.2% of the vote in the first round.
Leader of the Opposition (2020–2024)
Keir Starmer became the Leader of the Opposition during the COVID-19 pandemic. In his speech, he said he would avoid making political arguments and work with the government to help the country. Later, he criticized the government’s actions during the pandemic after the Partygate scandal. In May 2022, Starmer said he would resign if he received a fine for breaking rules while campaigning before the Hartlepool by-election and local elections. This event was called "Beergate." In July 2022, Durham Police said Starmer had no case to answer. In August 2022, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards found Starmer had broken the MPs’ code of conduct eight times by not registering interests.
In July 2022, as many ministers resigned from Boris Johnson’s government, Starmer proposed a vote of no confidence, saying Johnson should not stay in office. He also criticized Johnson, Liz Truss, and Rishi Sunak for issues like the Chris Pincher scandal, the economic crisis from the 2022 mini-budget, the cost of living crisis, and NHS strikes.
As Labour leader, Starmer focused on moving the party away from past controversies and promised economic stability, reducing small-boat crossings, cutting NHS waiting times, improving worker rights, energy independence, infrastructure, tackling crime, and reforming public services. He also pledged to end antisemitism in the Labour Party. In October 2020, he accepted a report’s findings about antisemitism and apologized on the party’s behalf. In February 2023, the Equality and Human Rights Commission said the Labour Party no longer needed monitoring because of changes to its procedures.
In September 2023, Starmer reshuffled his shadow cabinet. He was ranked second in the New Statesman’s Left Power List 2023, below his Shadow Chancellor, Rachel Reeves. The reshuffle was seen as favoring the party’s right wing over the left.
During the 2023 Hamas-Israel War, Starmer supported Israel, said he would favor military aid, and called Hamas’s actions terrorism. He said Israel had the right to defend itself but stressed actions must follow international law. He supported a humanitarian pause to allow aid to reach Gaza but opposed a full ceasefire.
In November 2023, 56 of Starmer’s MPs defied a party rule to vote for an SNP motion supporting a ceasefire in Gaza. In December 2023, Starmer changed his stance, calling for a "sustainable ceasefire" after the Foreign Secretary, David Cameron, did the same. He supported a "two-state solution" for peace. During his leadership, Labour’s membership dropped from 532,000 to 370,450 before the 2024 election, with many members leaving due to the party’s stance on Gaza and green policies.
Starmer’s shadow cabinet initially included members from both the left and right of Labour. He reshuffled it three times—May 2021, November 2021, and September 2023—reducing left-wing representation and increasing right-wing influence. Notable changes included Rachel Reeves becoming Shadow Chancellor, Lisa Nandy being demoted, and Nick Brown replaced by Alan Campbell. Resignations included Andy McDonald and Rosena Allin-Khan.
Starmer considered resigning after Labour’s mixed results in the 2021 local elections but stayed on, saying he believed change was needed in the party. During his time as Opposition Leader, Labour lost a safe seat in Hartlepool and held others but gained seats in 2023 local elections, becoming the largest party in local government since 2002. Labour also gained seats in 2024 local elections.
In May 2024, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced a general election for July 4, 2024. Labour led in opinion polls and was expected to win a large majority. In June 2024, Starmer released Labour’s 2024 manifesto, "Change," focusing on economic growth, clean energy, healthcare, education, and worker rights. It included plans for a publicly owned energy company, reducing NHS waiting times, renationalizing railways, and giving 16-year-olds the vote. Starmer promised not to increase income tax, National Insurance, or VAT.
Labour won a landslide victory in the 2024 general election, ending 14 years of Conservative rule. They gained 174 seats, totaling 411, becoming the largest party in the House of Commons.
Prime minister (2024–present)
Starmer became Prime Minister after leading the majority party in the House of Commons. King Charles III appointed him as Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury, and Minister for the Civil Service on 5 July 2024. This made him the first Labour Prime Minister since Gordon Brown in 2010 and the first to win a general election since Tony Blair in 2005. He also became the first Prime Minister to take office with a knighthood since Alec Douglas-Home. Starmer and his wife, Victoria, traveled from Buckingham Palace to Downing Street in a car. On the way, Starmer stopped to walk along Downing Street and greet people who were cheering.
In his first speech as Prime Minister, Starmer honored his predecessor, Rishi Sunak, by saying, "His achievement as the first British Asian Prime Minister should not be underestimated." He also praised Sunak's work but noted that the public had voted for change. World leaders, including Joe Biden, Justin Trudeau, Tony Blair, and Gordon Brown, congratulated Starmer on his appointment. One of his first actions was to end the Rwanda asylum plan. The Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, created a Border Security Command to stop smuggling gangs that help people cross the English Channel illegally. Starmer visited all four nations of the UK, meeting leaders such as John Swinney, Michelle O'Neill, and Vaughan Gething. He also met with twelve regional mayors and announced the Council of the Nations and Regions. On 24 July 2024, he gave his first speech in the House of Commons during Prime Minister's Questions.
Starmer began appointing a new Cabinet, which met for the first time on 6 July. He finished all ministerial appointments by 7 July. Parliament was then called back to meet on 9 July. Some of Starmer’s appointments included Patrick Vallance as Minister of State for Science, James Timpson as Minister of State for Prisons, Parole, and Probation, and Richard Hermer as Attorney General for England and Wales. These individuals were made life peers to sit in the House of Lords. Some ministers from the New Labour governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, such as Hilary Benn, Yvette Cooper, David Lammy, and Ed Miliband, were also included in the Cabinet.
In September 2025, Starmer’s deputy, Angela Rayner, resigned due to a tax scandal, which was a major challenge for his leadership. After Rayner’s resignation, Starmer made the first major changes to his Cabinet.
In December 2024, Starmer named Peter Mandelson as the British ambassador to the United States. However, in September 2025, Starmer removed Mandelson from his role because of his connection to Jeffrey Epstein. In February 2026, Starmer said Mandelson had lied about his relationship with Epstein during a vetting process. Starmer regretted appointing Mandelson and, with the King’s approval, removed him from the Privy Council. The Mandelson scandal caused the resignation of Starmer’s Chief of Staff, Morgan McSweeney, and his Director of Communications, Tim Allan. After Allan resigned, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar called for Starmer to step down as Prime Minister, but other Cabinet members supported him.
Starmer’s approval ratings among the British public were very low during his time as Prime Minister. His ratings dropped from 5% after the election to -30% by January 2025. By November 2025, his ratings had fallen further to -46%. A poll by Ipsos found that only 13% of the public were satisfied with Starmer’s work, while 79% were dissatisfied, giving him a net approval rating of -66. This made him the least popular Prime Minister since Ipsos began tracking approval ratings in 1977. His ratings were still higher than those of Boris Johnson during the Partygate scandal, Jeremy Corbyn when he left Labour, and Liz Truss when she resigned as Prime Minister.
Starmer’s low popularity was linked to poor results for Labour in the 2025 local elections. The party also had weak poll numbers before the 2026 local elections and the 2026 Senedd election. A report in Politico suggested these results could lead to challenges to Starmer’s leadership.
In September 2025, The Guardian reported that some Members of Parliament were planning to replace Starmer. These plans were supported by briefings from Starmer’s allies, who said he would resist any leadership challenge. By November, reports suggested that Starmer might be replaced by Wes Streeting after the November 2025 budget. Soon after, Clive Lewis became the first Labour MP to publicly call for Starmer’s resignation.
A poll by YouGov in February 2026 found that 51% of respondents thought Starmer was as sleazy as Boris Johnson. The poll also showed that 43% of people believed Starmer handled the Mandelson scandal poorly, while 23% thought he handled it well.
Domestically, Starmer focused on economic growth, reforming the planning system, improving infrastructure, energy, healthcare, education, childcare, and workers’ rights, as outlined in Labour’s 2024 election manifesto. During the 2024 State Opening of Parliament, Labour announced plans to introduce 39 new laws, including renationalizing the railways, bringing local bus services under public control, strengthening workers’ rights, addressing illegal immigration, reforming the House of Lords, and speeding up infrastructure and housing projects. Some bills from the previous Conservative government, such as the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, were also included. Skills England, an organization aimed at improving skills training in England to reduce reliance on foreign workers, was launched on 22 July.
The new Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, said the previous government left a £21.9 billion budget shortfall. On 29 July, she announced that winter fuel payments for about 10 million pensioners would be cut. After facing criticism, Starmer defended the decision, saying it was necessary to stabilize the economy. On 10 September, the government defeated a Conservative motion in Parliament by a 120-vote majority to block the plan.
Starmer’s government inherited ongoing labor disputes from the previous Conservative government. It reached pay deals with trade unions representing NHS and railway workers, ending strikes within months of taking office. In August 2024, the government agreed to increase public-sector worker pay by 5 to 7%.
On 10 October
Political positions
After winning the 2020 Labour Party leadership election, Keir Starmer's political views changed significantly. He initially supported a left-leaning platform with ten key promises, such as raising income tax for the top 5% of earners, ending university tuition fees, and supporting freedom of movement. However, many of these promises were later changed or abandoned during his time as Labour leader. Starmer explained that changing economic conditions made some of these goals difficult to achieve.
Some people believe Starmer has moved Labour toward the political center to increase the party's chances of winning elections, comparing his changes to Tony Blair's reforms in the 1990s. Others argue that Starmer lacks a clear political philosophy, while a third group claims he follows a left-leaning socialist approach, similar to Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell.
Some figures, including Starmer's former boss Geoffrey Robertson and advisor Simon Fletcher, have described him as having an authoritarian style. During his leadership, Starmer introduced policies aimed at gaining support from voters who favor more authoritarian approaches.
Although there is no clear agreement about Starmer's political beliefs, a term called "Starmerism" has been used to describe his approach. His advisor, Morgan McSweeney, is often credited with influencing his policies.
In April 2023, Starmer discussed Starmerism in an interview with The Economist. He outlined two main ideas: first, that the British government needs to be more effective and less centralized, with policies based on five key missions over two terms. Second, he supports "modern supply-side economics," which focuses on increasing productivity, reducing inequality, and improving the economy through skills development and streamlining processes like construction planning.
In June 2023, Starmer told Time that his goals include fixing the economy, addressing climate change, improving public services, and ensuring safer communities.
Starmer is a member of the Fabian Society and supports public ownership of services like railways, buses, and energy. He has pledged to renationalize these services and regulate energy and water companies more strictly. He also supports lowering the voting age to 16, which will be implemented in the next UK general election.
Starmer emphasizes reforming public institutions, local governance, and devolution. He plans to abolish the House of Lords, calling it "indefensible," and replace it with a directly elected Assembly of the Regions and Nations. He criticized the Conservatives for creating peerages for "cronies and donors" and worked with former Labour leader Gordon Brown to propose constitutional reforms, including abolishing the House of Lords and giving more power to local councils.
Labour's 2024 election manifesto included plans to remove hereditary peers from the House of Lords and set a mandatory retirement age of 80 for members. A 2025 Guardian editorial noted that Starmer's policies align more with Anglo-American ideas, such as deregulation and market-driven growth, than with European approaches.
Starmer supports green policies to reduce carbon emissions and aims to eliminate fossil fuels from the UK electricity grid by 2030. He also backed reforms to improve animal welfare, including banning hen cages, pig farrowing crates, and low-welfare chicken breeds on farms.
In 2024, Starmer stated that Labour supports LGBT rights, including stronger protections against hate crimes, modernizing gender recognition laws, and banning conversion therapy. After taking office, Labour reiterated plans to ban conversion therapy as part of the King's speech.
Starmer has opposed allowing transgender people to self-identify and stated that trans women should not use women-only spaces. Following a 2025 court ruling, he said he no longer believes transgender women can be considered women under the Equality Act 2010.
After the murder of George Floyd in 2020, Starmer supported the Black Lives Matter movement and took the knee with his deputy, Angela Rayner. He pledged a Race Equality Act to address racial injustice.
Following the murder of Sarah Everard in 2021, Starmer called for harsher sentences for sexual violence and committed to reducing violence against women and girls, knife crime, and improving the criminal justice system. He also promised to place specialist domestic violence workers in police control rooms to assist victims.
In 2024, Starmer pledged to reduce legal immigration by improving training and skills for British workers.
In December 2023, Starmer cited Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair, and Clement Attlee as examples of leaders who made meaningful changes by serving the public rather than imposing their views.
Personal life
In the early 2000s, Starmer met Victoria Alexander, who was a lawyer at the time. They worked together on the same case while Starmer was a senior barrister at Doughty Street Chambers. They became engaged in 2004 and married on May 6, 2007, at the Fennes Estate near Bocking, Essex. The couple has two children: a son born one year after their wedding and a daughter born two years later. Before moving to Downing Street, they lived in Kentish Town, north London, where they own a townhouse.
Starmer follows a pescatarian diet, and his wife is a vegetarian. They raised their children as vegetarians until they turned 10, at which point the children were allowed to choose whether to eat meat. During the 2024 general election, Starmer said his greatest concern about becoming prime minister was how it might affect his children, who were going through "difficult ages." He also mentioned he would try to avoid working after 6 p.m. on Fridays to attend Shabbat dinners and spend time with his family.
Starmer is an atheist and chose to take a "solemn affirmation" instead of an oath when pledging allegiance to the monarch. He has stated that while he does not believe in God, he respects the role of faith in uniting people. He supported his children’s upbringing in the Jewish faith and attends services at the Liberal Jewish Synagogue in North London. Starmer is also a football player who played for Homerton Academicals, an amateur team in north London. He supports the Premier League football club Arsenal and held season tickets at the Emirates Stadium before becoming prime minister.
Since September 2024, Starmer and his family have cared for a Siberian cat named Prince at 10 Downing Street. On December 26, 2024, Starmer’s brother, Nick, passed away after a cancer diagnosis. Starmer released a statement the next day to honor his brother’s memory.
Awards and honours
In 2002, Starmer was appointed Queen's Counsel (now King's Counsel). In 2005, he received the Bar Council's Sydney Elland Goldsmith Award for his significant contribution to pro bono work in efforts to challenge the death penalty in Uganda, Kenya, Malawi, and the Caribbean. In 2022, he was elected an Honorary Fellow of St Edmund Hall, Oxford. In 2025, Time magazine listed him as one of the world's 100 most influential people.
For his "services to law and criminal justice," Starmer was knighted and appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in the 2014 New Year Honours. This appointment allowed him to wear the Order of the Bath badge and star on appropriate occasions.
Starmer was sworn of the Privy Council on 19 July 2017, giving him the honorific prefix "The Right Honourable."