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88-564: Despite the name, it is not geographically central but is nevertheless at the "waist" of Scotland on a conventional map and the term "central" is used in many local government, police and NGO designations . It was formerly known as the Midlands or Scottish Midlands but this term has fallen out of fashion. The Central Belt lies between the Highlands to the north and the Southern Uplands to

176-643: A general election would be held on 4 July 2024. Labour entered the general election with a large lead over the Conservatives in opinion polls , and the potential scale of the party's victory remained a topic of discussion throughout the campaign. In June 2024 Starmer released the Labour Party’s 2024 manifesto, Change , which focused on economic growth, planning system reforms, infrastructure, what Starmer describes as "clean energy", healthcare, education, childcare, and strengthening workers' rights. It pledged

264-527: A vote of no confidence in the Government , stating that Johnson should not be allowed to remain in office. Starmer also criticised Johnson, as well as his successors Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak , for issues such as the Chris Pincher scandal and the subsequent government crisis , the economic crisis resulting from the 2022 mini-budget and subsequent government crisis , the cost of living crisis , and

352-420: A Conservative peer for offences relating to false accounting in the aftermath of the parliamentary expenses scandal , who were all found guilty. Starmer prioritised rapid prosecutions of rioters over long sentences during the 2011 England riots , which he later concluded helped to bring "the situation back under control". In February 2012 Starmer announced that Chris Huhne would be prosecuted for perverting

440-608: A Conservative peer, and the future conservative journalist Andrew Sullivan . According to Starmer, he and Sullivan "fought over everything... Politics, religion.. You name it." In his teenage years Starmer was active in Labour Party politics joining the Labour Party Young Socialists at the age of 16. He won a junior exhibition from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama where he played

528-498: A different succeeding council area. For most administrative purposes, the base level of sub-division in Scotland is now that of communities , which may elect community councils . The main role of these bodies is to channel and reflect local opinion to other bodies; they otherwise have very limited powers. There are around 1,200 communities in Scotland. Not all communities have councils; some have joint councils. Scottish communities are

616-506: A friend as well as a colleague. And to all of our members, supporters and affiliates I say this: whether you voted for me or not I will represent you, I will listen to you and I will bring our party together. Having become Leader of the Opposition during the COVID-19 pandemic , Starmer said in his acceptance speech that he would refrain from "scoring party political points" and would work with

704-864: A human rights adviser to the Northern Ireland Policing Board , taking silk as a Queen's Counsel in 2002. During his tenure as Director of Public Prosecutions and Head of the Crown Prosecution Service he dealt with a number of major cases, including the Stephen Lawrence murder case . In the 2014 New Year Honours , he was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) for "services to law and criminal justice". Starmer's policing work in Northern Ireland influenced him to pursue

792-470: A legal officer for the campaign group Liberty until 1990. Starmer was a member of Doughty Street Chambers from 1990 onwards, primarily working on human rights matters. Starmer has been called to the Bar in several Caribbean countries , where he defended convicts sentenced with the death penalty. In 1999 he was a junior barrister on Lee Clegg 's appeal . Starmer assisted Helen Steel and David Morris in

880-424: A majority of 120 to block the measure. Starmer's Labour Government inherited a number of ongoing industrial disputes from the preceding Conservative Government and agreed pay deals with trade unions representing NHS and railway workers, ending strikes in the first few months of taking office. In August 2024, Starmer's government agreed to increase public-sector worker pay by 5 to 7 per cent. On 10 October

968-570: A member of the university's Labour Club before graduating with first-class honours as a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) in 1985. He then went up to St Edmund Hall to pursue postgraduate studies in Jurisprudence taking a Bachelor of Civil Law (BCL) degree from the University of Oxford in 1986. Starmer became a barrister in 1987 at the Middle Temple , then a bencher in 2009. He served as

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1056-573: A new publicly-owned energy company ( Great British Energy ), a "Green Prosperity Plan", reducing patient waiting times in the NHS, and renationalisation of the railway network ( Great British Railways ). Promising wealth creation together with "pro-business and pro-worker" policies, the manifesto also pledged giving 16-year-olds the vote, reforming the House of Lords , and to tax private schools , with money generated going into improving state education. On taxes,

1144-526: A panel to review complaints. Starmer stepped down as Director of Public Prosecutions in November 2013, and was succeeded by Alison Saunders . Awarded several honorary degrees between 2011 to 2014, Starmer was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in the 2014 New Year Honours for "services to law and criminal justice". My predecessor, the Right Hon. Frank Dobson, to whom I pay tribute,

1232-538: A political career, and he was elected to the House of Commons at the 2015 general election . He supported the Remain campaign in the 2016 European Union membership referendum and advocated a proposed second referendum on Brexit . He served in Jeremy Corbyn 's Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Brexit Secretary , and following Corbyn's resignation after Labour's defeat at the 2019 general election , Starmer succeeded him by winning

1320-553: Is a trapezoid, not precisely defined, but essentially encompassing the generally low-lying areas from Helensburgh to Montrose (the Highland Boundary Fault ) and from Girvan to Dunbar (the Southern Uplands Fault ). This also takes in fairly densely populated regions such as Ayrshire and East Lothian , and encompasses all the major cities of Scotland, except for Aberdeen and Inverness which are located in

1408-400: Is divided into 871 civil parishes which often resemble same-named but legally different ecclesiastical parishes. Although they have had no administrative function since 1930, they still exist and are still used for statistical purposes such as the census. Many former civil parish areas also continued to form registration districts until 1 January 2007. Many boundary changes have occurred over

1496-557: Is divided into 32 areas designated as "council areas" ( Scottish Gaelic : comhairlean ), which are all governed by single-tier authorities designated as "councils". They have the option under the Local Government (Gaelic Names) (Scotland) Act 1997 of being known (but not re-designated) as a " comhairle " when opting for a Gaelic name; only Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (Council of the Western Isles) has chosen this option, whereas

1584-417: Is the change in the Labour Party we need". During Starmer's tenure as Opposition Leader, his party suffered the loss of a previously safe Labour seat at the 2021 Hartlepool by-election , followed by holds at the 2021 Batley and Spen by-election , 2022 Birmingham Erdington by-election and 2022 City of Chester by-election , as well as a gain from the Conservatives at the 2022 Wakefield by-election . During

1672-654: The 2019 general election with a reduced majority of 27,763 (64.9 per cent), and at the 2024 general election with a further reduced majority of 18,884 (48.9 per cent). During the 2016 European Union membership referendum , Starmer supported the Britain Stronger in Europe campaign for the UK to remain in the European Union (EU). A member of both parliamentary groups Labour Friends of Israel and Labour Friends of Palestine and

1760-418: The 2020 leadership election . As Leader of the Opposition he moved Labour towards the political centre and emphasised the elimination of antisemitism within the party , and his party made significant gains in the 2023 and 2024 local elections . Starmer led Labour to a landslide victory at the 2024 general election , ending fourteen years of Conservative Party governance and with the smallest share of

1848-523: The 2023 local elections , Labour gained more than 500 councillors and 22 councils, becoming the largest party in local government for the first time since 2002 . Labour made further gains at the 2024 local elections , gaining from the Conservatives at the Blackpool South by-election and narrowly winning the West Midlands mayoral election . On 22 May 2024 Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced that

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1936-428: The 2024 Southport stabbing , in which three young girls were killed, Starmer described the incident as horrendous and shocking and thanked emergency services for their swift response. He visited Southport and laid flowers at the scene, where he was heckled by some members of the public. Starmer later wrote amidst the ongoing riots across England and Northern Ireland following the stabbing that those who had "hijacked

2024-602: The Highland Council ( Comhairle na Gàidhealtachd ) has adopted its Gaelic form alongside its English equivalent, informally. The council areas have been in existence since 1 April 1996, under the provisions of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 . Historically, Scotland was divided into 34 counties or shires . Although these no longer have any administrative function, they are still used to some extent in Scotland for cultural and geographical purposes, and some of

2112-465: The House of Lords , and to undertake a programme to speed up the delivery of "high quality infrastructure" and housing. In addition, a number of bills proposed by the previous Conservative government were also included, notably the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which featured in the 2023 King's Speech, but had been abandoned when the election was called . Skills England , a body whose objective will be to reduce

2200-648: The Iraq War following the 2003 invasion of Iraq , stating in 2015 that he believed that the war was " not lawful under international law because there was no UN resolution expressly authorising it". Starmer served as a human rights adviser to the Northern Ireland Policing Board and the Association of Chief Police Officers , and was also a member of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office 's Death Penalty Advisory Panel from 2002 to 2008. The Northern Ireland Board

2288-613: The McLibel case , at the trial and appeal in English courts, also representing them before the European Court of Human Rights . Starmer was appointed Queen's Counsel on 9 April 2002, aged 39. In the same year, he became joint head of Doughty Street Chambers. In 2005 Starmer said "I got made a Queen's Counsel, which is odd since I often used to propose the abolition of the monarchy ". Starmer authored legal opinions and marched in protest against

2376-561: The Rwanda asylum plan and a National Violent Disorder Programme in response to the 2024 riots , as well as reforms to workers' rights . In foreign policy, Starmer has supported Ukraine in the Russia-Ukraine war and Israel in the Israel-Hamas war . Keir Rodney Starmer was born on 2 September 1962, at Southwark in south east London, and grew up in the town of Oxted , Surrey. He was

2464-770: The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS, Scottish Gaelic: Seirbheis Smàlaidh agus Teasairginn na h-Alba ). Prior to 1975 policing was the responsibility of the Cities and Burghs of Scotland (see List of burghs in Scotland ). Between 1975 and 2013 Scotland was subdivided into Police and fire service areas based on the regions and districts and island council areas that were also formed in 1975. The police and fire service regions used between 1975 and 2013 are listed below. Edinburgh City (E Division) Renfrewshire & Inverclyde (K Division) Ayrshire (U Division) Greater Glasgow (G Division) Lanarkshire (Q Division) Scotland

2552-615: The industrial disputes and strikes including National Health Service strikes . As Labour Leader Starmer focused on repositioning the Party away from the Left and the controversies that affected Corbyn's leadership, with promises of economic stability, tackling small-boat crossings , cutting NHS waiting times and "rebuilding the NHS", worker rights enrichment, energy independence and infrastructure development, tackling crime, improving education and training, reforming public services, renationalising

2640-414: The 2021 local elections, the first local elections of his leadership, but later felt "vindicated" by his decision to stay on, saying "I did [consider quitting] because I didn't feel that I should be bigger than the party and that if I couldn't bring about the change, perhaps there should be a change. But actually, in the end, I reflected on it, talked to very many people and doubled down and determined, no, it

2728-580: The European Union . In this role, Starmer questioned Theresa May and HM Government 's destination for the UK outside of the EU, as well as calling for Brexit plans to be made public and supporting a proposed Second Referendum on Brexit . Following defeat at the 2019 general election , Corbyn announced that he would not lead Labour at the next general election after "a process of reflection". Starmer began to distance himself from Corbyn's leadership and many of

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2816-466: The Government "in the national interest". He later became more critical of HM Government's response to the pandemic following the partygate scandal. In May 2022, Starmer said he would resign were he to receive a fixed penalty notice for breaching COVID-19 regulations while campaigning during the run-up to the Hartlepool by-election and local elections the previous year. The controversy surrounding

2904-534: The Government implemented the most significant enhancement of employment regulations in a generation. This included an increase in minimum wages and a wide array of rights, such as immediate protection against unfair dismissal and the entitlement for employees to request flexible working arrangements, unless the employer can demonstrate that such arrangements are impractical. Billions worth of investments in emerging growth sectors including AI and life sciences, and infrastructure were unveiled by businesses and ministers at

2992-558: The House of Commons. Labour achieved a 174-seat simple majority and a total of 411 seats, the party's third-best result in terms of seat-share following the 1997 and 2001 general elections. The party became the largest in England for the first time since 2005 , in Scotland for the first time since 2010 and retained its status as the largest party in Wales . Despite this, Labour won 34 per cent of

3080-667: The Labour Party no longer being monitored by the EHRC. Starmer's Shadow Cabinet initially comprised both the right and left of the Labour Party. Starmer reshuffled his Shadow Cabinet three times – firstly in May 2021 , secondly in November 2021 , and finally in September 2023 . Starmer's reshuffles reduced the representation of the left and soft left on the Opposition frontbench , while increasing

3168-499: The Middle East , Starmer was urged by a number of activists to stand in the 2015 Labour Party leadership election following the resignation of Ed Miliband as Leader of the Labour Party after Labour's defeat at the 2015 general election ; he ruled this out, citing his relative lack of political experience at the time. During the leadership election Starmer supported Andy Burnham , who finished second to Jeremy Corbyn . Starmer

3256-539: The beard a miss. Starmer was selected in December 2014 as the Labour parliamentary candidate for the constituency of Holborn and St Pancras , a Labour safe seat , following the decision of its sitting MP, Frank Dobson , to retire. Starmer was elected at the 2015 general election with a majority of 17,048 (52.9 per cent). He was re-elected at the 2017 general election with an increased majority of 30,509 (70.1 per cent), at

3344-579: The cap would immediately raise 300,000 children out of poverty. MPs rejected the SNP amendment by 363 votes to 103. The seven Labour MPs suspended for six months were John McDonnell , Richard Burgon , Ian Byrne , Apsana Begum , Imran Hussain , Zarah Sultana , and Rebecca Long-Bailey, all of whom now sit as independents . Starmer launched a Child Poverty Taskforce, in which expert officials from across government would work together on how best to support more than four-million children living in poverty. Following

3432-470: The challenges of an insecure world. Committed to a calm and patient rebuilding. So with respect and humility, I invite you all to join this government of service in the mission of national renewal. Our work is urgent and we begin it today. Other world leaders, including Joe Biden and Justin Trudeau , as well as Blair and Brown, congratulated Starmer upon his appointment as prime minister. One of his first acts

3520-620: The councils. There are several joint boards for electoral registration and the purposes of property valuation for assessing council tax and rates . See also NHS Scotland Until 1 April 2014 the towns of Cambuslang and Rutherglen were in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde health board area despite being located in South Lanarkshire. They are now part of NHS Lanarkshire. The Scottish Government has created seven "Regional Transport Partnerships", for establishing transport policy in

3608-402: The course of justice , stating in relation to the case that "[w]here there is sufficient evidence we do not shy away from prosecuting politicians". In 2012 the journalist Nick Cohen published allegations that Starmer was personally responsible for allowing the prosecution of Paul Chambers to proceed, in what became known as the " Twitter joke trial ". The CPS denied that Starmer was behind

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3696-445: The current council areas are named after them. There are also a number of other administrative divisions, some of which are handled by joint boards of the councils. At the most local level, Scotland is divided into civil parishes , which are now used only for statistical purposes such as the census. The lowest level of administrative subdivision are the communities , which may elect community councils . Traditionally burghs have been

3784-407: The day after the manifesto was released, Starmer pledged that not only would income tax, National Insurance , and VAT not be increased, but that, per their manifesto, their plans were fully costed and funded and would not require tax increases. Starmer led Labour to a landslide victory at the general election, ending fourteen years of Conservative government with Labour becoming the largest party in

3872-460: The day, shining once again, on a country with the opportunity after 14 years to get its future back. We said we would end the chaos and we will. We said we would turn the page and we have. Today we start the next chapter, begin the work of change, the mission of national renewal and start to rebuild our country. As the leader of the majority party in the House of Commons, Starmer was appointed prime minister by King Charles III on 5 July 2024, becoming

3960-461: The decision, saying that it was the responsibility of a Crown Court and was out of Starmer's hands. When Jimmy Savile 's sexual abuse crimes were exposed in 2012, Starmer said amid the subsequent scandal that "It was like a dam had bust and people rightfully wanted to know why he had been allowed to get away with it for so long." In 2013 Starmer announced changes to how sexual abuse investigations were to be handled amid Operation Yewtree , including

4048-500: The electoral vote of any majority government since record-keeping of the popular vote began in 1830 . Under Starmer's premiership , the government has ended certain winter fuel payments for around 10 million people, implemented an early-release scheme for thousands of prisoners to decrease prison overcrowding, and settled a number of public-sector strikes . Starmer has announced the Border Security Command in replacement of

4136-550: The establishment of the Council of the Nations and Regions . On 24 July 2024 Starmer attended his first Prime Minister's Questions in parliament. Starmer set about appointing a new Cabinet , which first met on 6 July, and he completed his ministerial appointments on 7 July. Parliament was then recalled to meet on 9 July. Among Starmer's ministerial appointments were the scientist Patrick Vallance as Minister of State for Science ,

4224-605: The event was dubbed " beergate ". In July 2022 Durham Police cleared Starmer and said that he had "no case to answer". In August 2022 the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards , Kathryn Stone , found that Starmer had breached the MPs' code of conduct eight times by failing to register interests on eight occasions. Amidst the historic number of ministers resigning from Boris Johnson 's government in July 2022, Starmer proposed

4312-531: The first British Asian prime minister of our country should not be underestimated by anyone" and he also recognised "the dedication and hard work he brought to his leadership", but added that the people of the UK had voted for change: You have given us a clear mandate, and we will use it to deliver change. To restore service and respect to politics, end the era of noisy performance, tread more lightly on your lives, and unite our country. Four nations, standing together again, facing down, as we have so often in our past,

4400-519: The first Labour prime minister since Gordon Brown in 2010 and the first one to win a general election since Tony Blair in 2005 . He and his wife, Victoria, were driven from Buckingham Palace to Downing Street . Starmer stopped the car on the way back from the palace to go on a walkabout in Downing Street to meet cheering crowds. In his first speech as prime minister, Starmer paid tribute to his predecessor, Rishi Sunak, saying "his achievement as

4488-465: The flute, piano, recorder and violin until the age of 18. In the early 1980s Starmer was caught by police illegally selling ice creams while trying to raise money during a holiday on the French Riviera . He escaped the incident without punishment, beyond the ice creams being confiscated. The first member of his family to go to university, Starmer read Law at the University of Leeds where he became

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4576-554: The four cities of Aberdeen , Dundee , Edinburgh , and Glasgow form separate areas from the surrounding countryside, with the Lord Provost of each city acting ex officio as the lord-lieutenant. Not shown: The Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012 resulted in the merger of local police and fire services on 1 April 2013 to form the Police Service of Scotland ( Scottish Gaelic : Seirbheis Phoilis na h-Alba ) and

4664-474: The full force of the law" and that "You will regret taking part in this, whether directly or those whipping up this action online and then running away themselves". He added "I won't shy away from calling it what it is – far-right thuggery". Starmer later called an emergency response meeting of COBRA . After the COBRA meeting, Starmer ordered a "standing army" to be set up to tackle the ongoing "far-right" riots. This

4752-582: The key unit of the local government of Scotland , being highly autonomous entities, with rights to representation in the old Parliament of Scotland . Even after the Acts of Union 1707 , burghs continued to be the principal subdivision. Until 1889, administration was on a burgh and parish basis. The years following 1889 saw the introduction of a hierarchy of local government administration comprising counties , counties of cities , large burghs and small burghs. With effect from 16 May 1975 and until 31 March 1996

4840-458: The last government. Over 1,700 prisoners were released in September, with further releases expected in the following year. It then emerged that one prisoner released early under the scheme was charged with sexual assault relating to an alleged offence against a woman on the same day he was freed. Starmer has defended the releasing of prisoners, and accused the previous government of having "broke[n]

4928-422: The local government divisions of Scotland consisted of an upper tier of regions each containing a lower tier of districts except for the single-tier island council areas . Since 1996 there has only been a single tier of government, and the former island council areas are of equal status to the other councils. Scotland has several other administrative divisions, some of which are handled by joint boards of

5016-742: The nearest equivalent to civil parishes in England. Keir Starmer Sir Keir Rodney Starmer ( / ˈ k ɪər / KEER ; born 2 September 1962) is a British politician who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom since 2024 and as Leader of the Labour Party since 2020. He was Leader of the Opposition from 2020 to 2024. He has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Holborn and St Pancras since 2015, having previously been Director of Public Prosecutions from 2008 to 2013. Born in London and raised in Surrey , Starmer attended

5104-547: The need for overseas employees by improving skills training for people in England, was launched on 22 July. One of Starmer's first acts was the cancellation of the controversial Rwanda asylum plan , describing it as "dead and buried". Cooper established the Border Security Command to tackle smuggling gangs which facilitate illegal migrant crossings over the English Channel . Shortly after taking office, Starmer said that there were "too many prisoners", and described

5192-1039: The north of the country, as well as the bulk of Scotland's industrial works. Including rural parts of the council areas involved, the total population was around 4.28 million in 2018. There are several terms in common usage in a Scottish context with a similar meaning to "Central Belt". Subdivisions of Scotland Charles III William , Duke of Rothesay Swinney government The Rt Hon John Swinney MSP The Rt Hon John Swinney MSP Kate Forbes MSP Sixth session Alison Johnstone MSP Angela Constance MSP Dorothy Bain KC The Rt Hon Lord Carloway KC PC United Kingdom Parliament elections European Parliament elections Local elections Referendums Starmer ministry The Rt Hon Keir Starmer MP The Rt Hon Ian Murray MP For local government purposes, Scotland

5280-429: The party. This is what it is for – a changed Labour Party ready to serve our country, ready to restore Britain to the service of working people. And across our country people will be waking up to the news, relieved that a weight has been lifted, a burden finally removed from the shoulders of this great nation. And now we can look forward. Walk into the morning, the sunlight of hope, pale at first but getting stronger through

5368-459: The planning system, infrastructure, energy, healthcare, education, childcare, and strengthening workers' rights, as set out in Labour's 2024 election manifesto. The 2024 State Opening of Parliament outlined 39 bills that Labour proposed to introduce in the months ahead, including ones to renationalise the railways , to bring local bus services under local public control, to strengthen the rights of workers, to tackle illegal immigration , to reform

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5456-482: The policies put forward at the general election, later revealing in 2024 that he was "certain that we would lose the 2019 election". On 4 January 2020 Starmer announced his candidacy for the resultant leadership election . He gained support from the former Labour prime minister Gordon Brown and London Mayor Sadiq Khan . During the Labour leadership campaign, Starmer ran a left-wing platform and positioned himself in opposition to austerity , stating that Corbyn

5544-578: The pre-1975 administrative counties with Glasgow being the only current city to form a registration county. Sheriffdoms are judicial areas. Since 1 January 1975, these have been six in number: The Lieutenancy areas of Scotland are the areas used for the ceremonial lord-lieutenants , the monarch 's representatives. The areas are similar to the Historic Counties and the Registration Counties, but are not identical to either. Most notably,

5632-399: The previous government as having acted "almost beyond recklessness". In order to manage the prison overcrowding, the newly-appointed Justice Secretary , Shabana Mahmood , announced the implementation of an early release scheme which allowed for prisoners in England and Wales to be released after serving 40 per cent of their sentences rather than the 50 per cent previously introduced under

5720-494: The previous government of leaving a £21.9bn "black hole", and announced on 29 July that certain winter fuel payments would be scrapped for around 10 million pensioners. Following criticism of the plan , Starmer has defended the scrapping of these winter fuel payments, arguing that he had to make "tough decisions to stabilise the economy". On 10 September the Government benches defeated a Conservative Party motion in Parliament by

5808-528: The prison system." Starmer has declined to abolish the two-child benefit cap introduced by the Cameron–Clegg coalition government in 2013, citing financial reasons. On 23 July 2024 Labour withdrew the whip from seven of its MPs who had supported an amendment tabled by the Scottish National Party 's Westminster parliamentary leader Stephen Flynn to scrap it, with Flynn saying that scrapping

5896-462: The railway network, and recruiting 6,500 teachers. Starmer also pledged to end antisemitism within the Labour Party . In October 2020, following the release of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC)'s report into antisemitism in the Labour Party , Starmer accepted its findings in full and apologised to Jews on the Party's behalf. In February 2023 Starmer's antisemitism reforms resulted in

5984-491: The regions. They broadly follow council area groupings. In the Eurostat Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS), Scotland is a level-1 NUTS region, coded "UKM", which is subdivided as follows: The current land registration system in Scotland divides Scotland into 33 Registration Counties , each coming into effect on various dates between 1981 and 2003. These areas in most cases resemble those of

6072-707: The rehabilitation campaigner James Timpson as Minister of State for Prisons, Parole and Probation , and the international law expert Richard Hermer as Attorney General for England and Wales , who were created life peers to sit in the House of Lords . The new government also contains a few ministers from the New Labour Blair/Brown governments, including Hilary Benn , Yvette Cooper, David Lammy, and Ed Miliband in Cabinet, and Jacqui Smith and Douglas Alexander as junior ministers. Domestically, Starmer said that his primary concerns would be economic growth, reforming

6160-482: The representation of the Party's right. Notable changes included Rachel Reeves replacing Anneliese Dodds as Shadow Chancellor , the demotion of Lisa Nandy from Shadow Levelling-Up Secretary to Shadow Minister for International Development , and the replacement of Chief Whip Nick Brown with Alan Campbell . Resignations from Starmer's Shadow Cabinet included Andy McDonald and Rosena Allin-Khan . Starmer considered resigning after Labour's mixed results in

6248-465: The school, now a charity, awarded him a bursary that allowed him to complete his education there without any parental contribution. The subjects he chose to study in the sixth form during his last two years at school were mathematics, music and physics, in which he achieved A level grades of B, B and C. Among his classmates at Reigate were the musician Norman Cook (Fatboy Slim), with whom Starmer took violin lessons; Andrew Cooper , who later became

6336-554: The second of the four children of Josephine ( née  Baker ), a nurse, and Rodney Starmer, a toolmaker . His mother contracted Still's disease . His mother attended St. John's Anglican Church in Hurst Green whilst his father was an atheist. He was nominally "brought up Church of England ." His parents were both Labour Party supporters, and reputedly named him after the party's first parliamentary leader, Keir Hardie , although Starmer neither confirmed nor denied whether this

6424-455: The selective state Reigate Grammar School . He was active politically as a teenager, and graduated with a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Leeds in 1985 and received a postgraduate Bachelor of Civil Law degree from the University of Oxford where he was a student at St Edmund Hall in 1986. After being called to the Bar , Starmer practised predominantly in criminal defence work, specialising in human rights . He served as

6512-451: The south. In the early 21st century, predictions were made that due to economic migration indicators, the urban areas of Glasgow and Edinburgh, whose centres are approximately 41 miles (66 km) apart, could merge to create a megalopolis over the coming decades. The area is often considered as the triangle defined by the M8 , M80 and M9 motorways stretching from Greenock and Glasgow in

6600-688: The trust of people". Starmer represented Croatia at the genocide hearings before the International Court of Justice at The Hague in 2014, arguing that Serbia wanted to seize a third of Croatian territory during the 1990s war and eradicate the Croatian population. In July 2008 Patricia Scotland , 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 succeeded Ken Macdonald , who publicly welcomed Starmer's appointment, on 1 November 2008. Starmer

6688-419: The vigil for the victims" had "insulted the community as it grieves" and that rioters would feel the full force of the law. On 1 August, and following a meeting with senior police officers, Starmer announced the establishment of a National Violent Disorder Programme to facilitate greater cooperation between police forces when dealing with violent disorder . On 4 August Starmer stated that rioters "will feel

6776-535: The vote in the first round. It is the honour and the privilege of my life to be elected as Leader of the Labour Party. I want to thank Rebecca and Lisa for running such passionate and powerful campaigns and for their friendship and support along the way. I want to thank our Labour Party staff who worked really hard and my own amazing campaign team, full of positivity, with that unifying spirit. I want to pay tribute to Jeremy Corbyn, who led our party through some really difficult times, who energised our movement and who's

6864-661: The vote – the lowest of any party forming a majority government in the post-war era, leading to concerns about the proportionality of the election . In his victory speech Starmer thanked Labour Party workers for their work – including nearly five years of revamping and rebranding Labour in the face of Conservative dominance – and urged them to savour the moment, but warned them of challenges ahead and pledged his government would seek "national renewal": We did it! You campaigned for it, you fought for it, you voted for it and now it has arrived. Change begins now. And it feels good, I have to be honest. Four-and-a-half years of work changing

6952-466: The west to Edinburgh in the east, and has been referred to as the Lowland Triangle . encompassing towns such as Paisley , Cambuslang , Hamilton , Stirling , Falkirk , Cumbernauld , Livingston and Bathgate . The population of the local authority areas which are wholly within this territory and have no extensive unpopulated areas was approximately 2.39 million in 2018. The larger Central Belt

7040-422: The years and an area currently derived from an old parish might no longer contain a place previously within that parish. Similarly, county boundaries (as still used for land registration) have also changed over the years such that a parish mentioned historically (generally before the 1860s) as being in one county (or sometimes two due to straddling a border) might now be in a neighbouring county and consequentially in

7128-508: Was a powerful advocate of the rights of everyone in Holborn and St Pancras throughout his highly distinguished parliamentary career. Widely respected and widely regarded, he served the people of Holborn and St Pancras for 36 years. Although I doubt I will clock up 36 years, I intend to follow in Frank Dobson's footsteps—albeit my jokes are likely to seem tame when compared with his, and I might give

7216-507: Was an important part of bringing communities together following the Good Friday Agreement , and Starmer later cited his work on policing in Northern Ireland as being a key influence on his decision to pursue a political career: "Some of the things I thought that 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

7304-467: Was appointed to Corbyn's Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Home Office Minister in July 2015. He resigned from this role in June 2016 as part of the widespread Shadow Cabinet resignations in protest at Corbyn's leadership following the 2016 EU Referendum result. Following Corbyn's re-election at the September 2016 leadership election , Starmer accepted a new post from Corbyn as Shadow Secretary of State for Exiting

7392-446: Was deemed to be bringing a focus on human rights into the legal system. In 2011 he introduced reforms that included the "first test paperless hearing". During his time as DPP Starmer dealt with a number of major cases including the Stephen Lawrence murder case , where he brought his murderers to justice. In February 2010 Starmer announced the CPS's decision to prosecute three Labour MPs and

7480-751: Was possible under the special emergency powers which first used 40 years ago under the Ridley Plan , to tackle striking miners in 1984 and 1985. Starmer faced criticism for his response to the riots, including from Elon Musk , the wealthiest person in the world, for not condemning all participants and only blaming the far-right . Musk dubbed Starmer "Two-Tier Keir", asking, "why aren't all communities protected in Britain?". Starmer rejected calls from some MPs, including Reform Party leader Nigel Farage and Conservative Dame Priti Patel , to recall parliament to Westminster . The new Chancellor , Rachel Reeves, accused

7568-487: Was right to position Labour as "the party of anti-austerity ". He indicated he would continue with the Labour policy of scrapping tuition fees as well as pledging "common ownership" of rail, mail, energy and water companies, and called for ending outsourcing in the NHS, local government and the justice system. Starmer was declared the winner of Labour's leadership contest on 4 April 2020, defeating his rivals, Rebecca Long-Bailey and Lisa Nandy , with 56.2 per cent of

7656-424: Was the case when asked in 2015. Starmer passed the 11-plus examination and gained entry to Reigate Grammar School , then a voluntary-aided selective grammar school . Reigate GS converted into an independent fee-paying school in 1976, while he was a student. The terms of the conversion were such that his parents were not required to pay for his schooling until he turned 16, and when he reached that point,

7744-491: Was to declare the Rwanda asylum plan as "dead": the Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper , would establish a Border Security Command to tackle smuggling gangs which facilitate illegal migrant crossings over the English Channel . Starmer went on a tour of the four nations of the UK , meeting with leaders including John Swinney , Michelle O'Neill , and Vaughan Gething . He also met the twelve regional mayors and announced

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