Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s teenage children have one request if they are all to move into Downing Street’s residence – and they’ve been ‘campaigning’ for a little while
Keir Starmer’s family will move into Downing Street following his landslide victory – and possibly with an extra resident.
The Labour leader, 61, became the new Prime Minister today after he toppled a succession of top Tories after 14 years in Number 10. Conservative leader Rishi Sunak said voters had delivered a “sobering verdict” on his party after suffering their worst result in history, losing hundreds of seats to Labour and the Lib Dems.
Keir and his wife, Victoria Starmer, along with their two children, a 15-year-old son and a 13-year-old daughter, are expected to move into No.11 imminently, which will be a huge change for the family. To make things a little easier and more comfortable, Keir revealed his kids have been campaigning for a pet dog.
The former MP paid a visit to ITV’s This Morning as part of his campaign trail last month and was interviewed by hosts Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard, where he revealed his children would “ramp up their campaign” for a pet pooch if he won the election. Keir has chosen to keep his kids out of the public eye and has not named them, but chats about their family life.
Opening up on their decision to remain private, Keir shared: “We took the decision we would keep them as protected as we possibly can. I want them to be able to walk to school as their own people and do as normal things as they can.” The father-of-two added: “We are trying to make sure they can have the lives of an ordinary teenage girl and boy. It is tricky.”
Starmer explained that their privacy has had an impact on his perception in the public eye. He said: “One thing we do lose on is that people don’t see me with my children, which gives you a sense of what type of person you are. Vic is slightly different because she will do the things that we have to do together, she is there at conferences etc.”
When asked how they feel about Keir possibly winning the election, he replied: “We have got to get it over the line but they are worried if I am honest. They are worried about it. I think any parent would understand this, if you are a teenage child you don’t want things to change. You have got things set up at home exactly as you want them.
“You have got your friends, routine and first little bits of independence. It may not be a big thing but you can do what you want with friends after school. All of that I can see deep down that they are worried this could change, which is why we will fiercely protect their identity.” Keir added that his wife Victoria works for the NHS and his son has been sitting his GCSEs.
“When they were born, Vic and I sat down as we said, ‘What do we want for our children?’ We didn’t want to say they must go to university and do this career or whatever. We said happy and confident. Whatever they do in life, happy and confident are the guiding stars for us,” Keir explained, adding: “But I am worried about the impact and inside, I think they are too.”
