HOLDING back the tears, Sir Keir Starmer’s lip quivered as he posed for his last photo outside Number 10 next to his loyal wife, Victoria.
A constant by his side, has been dubbed the Prime Minister’s ‘closest adviser’ by those in his Cabinet – so it was unsurprising on the steps of Downing Street paid tribute to his ‘rock’.
Sir Keir Starmer fought back tears today while announcing he will quit as Prime Minister after just two years in power Credit: Simon Jones
The PM welled up while paying tribute to his ‘fantastic wife Vic, who has been a rock by my side through good times and bad’ Credit: EPA
Choking up, he said: “When I leave the biggest job in the country, I shall spend more time on the most important job, being the best husband I can to my fantastic wife Vic, who has been a rock by my side through good times and bad, and being the best dad I can to my beautiful children, who are my pride and my joy. Thank you very much.”
As he concluded his speech, to cheers of support from colleagues, he hugged his wife and returned inside No 10.
The Labour leader spent the last few days in his country retreat, Chequers, with his wife as he debated his political future.
It was apparently Lady Starmer who stopped Sir Keir from quitting after
It comes just two years after Sir Keir entered Downing Street following a landslide victory Credit: PA
Keir said he now wanted to devote his time to ‘being the best dad I can to my beautiful children, who are my pride and my joy’ Credit: Getty
And she was again steadfast that her husband should carry on this weekend.
, a trained solicitor, was said to be annoyed at the perceived ‘treachery’ of leadership hopefuls Wes Streeting and Andy Burnham.
But despite her pivotal role in the country’s politics, Lady Starmer never craved the limelight.
The pair married in 2007, after meeting while both working on the same case in the early noughties, when Keir was a barrister.
Lady Starmer is a former solicitor who now works for the NHS as an occupational health worker Credit: Rex
Keir Starmer and Victoria Starmer hosting a Christmas Party in 10 Downing Street for frontline workers in 2025 Credit: Crown Copyright
previously recalled he wanted to know who was responsible for a certain set of documents and wanted to question their accuracy, so ended up calling then-solicitor Victoria, who now works for the NHS in occupational health.
Speaking to British Vogue, Starmer revealed before he hung up, he heard Victoria say: “Who the f*** does he think he is?”
The future PM later mused: “You might think ‘not the best of starts’ but it was absolute classic Vic. No nonsense from anyone, including me.”
Despite their two decade long relationship Vic made it clear she wanted to “lead her own life” despite living above the shop in No 10, and she declined taking part in interviews or media opportunities.
The couple’s two children — a son, 18, and a 16-year-old daughter — have also been shielded from the public spotlight.
As her husband has been running the country, Victoria, 53, has been working as an NHS occupational therapist.
The couple were introduced in the early 2000s while working on the same legal case – Keir as a senior barrister at Doughty Street Chambers and Vic as a solicitor at Hodge Jones & Allen Credit: Pixel8000
The pair married on May 6, 2007 at the Fennes Estate near Bocking in Essex
She was also said to be reluctant to leave the family home in Kentish Town, North London, where she and Keir have lived since they married 17 years ago.
They have a close circle of friends there and were regulars at their local pub The Pineapple – just a short walk from the Lord Stanley, the boozer where the pair had their first date over two decades ago.
One parent who lives in the area described Victoria as a “cool North London mum” who wears “dark skinny jeans, suede ankle boots and silk shirts”.
Before the couple moved into Downing Street a friend told The Sun: “She is dreading but accepting of it.”
Reluctant to leave her vibrant corner of North London, Victoria grew up in Gospel Oak, North West London.
She attended £25,000-a-year Channing School for Girls, in North London.
Her mum Barbara was a community doctor, while dad Bernard was an economics lecturer who became a chartered accountant.
Her older sister Judith is a teacher. Barbara, who died after a fall in February 2020, grew up in Doncaster and passed her love of horse racing on to her daughter.
Keir and Vic have two children together – a son and daughter, both teenagers Credit: Reuters
The Starmers made the decision to keep their kids out of the public spotlight, with Keir refusing to publicly name them or share photos of their faces Credit: Refer to Caption
Her father’s Jewish family came to Britain from Poland before World War Two.
Victoria has kept her faith, as Keir once said to Jewish Chronicle that the family “observe some of the practices such as Friday night prayers”.
Although she now veers away from politics publicly, Vic actually entered the arena before her partner Keir.
At Cardiff University she studied law and sociology.
She became the university’s education and welfare officer in 1993, she fought against reforms proposed by then Education Secretary, Conservative John Patten.
The student newspaper said: “Vicky Alexander’s ‘windswept’ look must have played its part in her massive majority.”
The report added that her “excellent manifesto did swing the electorate and proved she was a winner”.
She would dabble in politics again in 1997 when she volunteered in Tony Blair’s campaign headquarters.
However the tables turned over the course of their relationship.
When Keir left his role as Director of Public Prosecutions in 2013, Victoria tried to dissuade him from getting into politics.
He recalled: “My wife was ringing adverts in the papers about well-paid lawyers’ jobs. But I said, ‘No, I want to serve my country’.”
While serving his country his wife has made very few appearances in the spotlight.
During the 2024 election she largely avoided the campaign trail, but she did make an appearance with Keir at one of Taylor Swift’s recent Wembley shows — a Labour insider called the image the “standout” moment of the election campaign.
In the image widely shared on social media she looked characteristically glamorous in a tasselled waistcoat alongside her husband who grinned for the camera like a couple of lovestruck teenagers at their first gig.
For his part, Keir said the image had brought the joy she brings him out into the open.
“That photo tells you everything,” he revealed. “She is my rock. We are like two sides of the same coin.
“She is sassy, down-to-earth and gives brilliant advice. We just bring out the best in each other. She certainly brings out the best in me.”
It is not just the Prime Minister that admires his wife.
During a visit to the White House in February 2025 President Trump described her as “impressive” and a “beautiful, great woman”.
“Well, I think we [the UK and US] have just a great relationship. We actually had a good relationship before,” said Trump.
“We’ve met a couple of times and I’m very impressed with him, and very impressed with his wife. I must say, she’s a beautiful, great woman.”
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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