As Labour leader Keir Starmer moves into Downing Street after a landslide win, the Mirror takes a look at what will happen to politic’s most lovable feline, Larry the Cat
A whole lot is going to change at Downing Street after 14 years of Tory rule – but one thing will remain the same.
Labour leader Keir Starmer is the new Prime Minister after he secured a landslide election victory. The Tories suffered an almost total collapse and are on course for their worst result in history, losing hundreds of seats to Labour and the Lib Dems. Conservative’s Rishi Sunak said voters had delivered a “sobering verdict” on his party after over a decade in power.
So it’s out with the old and in with the new, as Starmer will move into Downing Street and boot Sunak out. But what will happen to its most famous resident, Larry the Cat? The feline favourite has been there for years and years, long before Liz Truss and Boris Johnson, and he is a familiar face that people actually like to see outside Number 10.
Who owns Larry the Cat?
Larry the Cat was born a stray in 2007 and rescued from Battersea Dogs & Cats Home in 2011. He has been a beloved tenant of Number 10 and holds the title of Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office. During a 2016 Prime Minister’s Questions, David Cameron explained that Larry is a civil servant and not the personal property of any one individual.
He actually has official duties as well, with the Downing Street website stating he “spends his days greeting guests to the house, inspecting security defences and testing antique furniture for napping quality”. It reads: “His day-to-day responsibilities also include contemplating a solution to the mouse occupancy of the house. Larry says this is still ‘in tactical planning stage’.”
He has also met his fair share of world leaders, as during a visit from Donald Trump he decided to lounge out behind the former President’s £1.2 million armoured Cadillac. In 2011, David Cameron revealed to the BBC that Larry actually liked Barack Obama, saying: “Funnily enough, he liked Barack Obama. Obama gave him a stroke and he was all right with Obama.”
What will happen to Larry now?
As Larry is technically not owned by an individual, but by the staff of Downing Street, he won’t be going anywhere. Civil Servants simply serve whichever party is in place, so when Keir Starmer moves in, Larry will be there waiting for him.
Larry is 17 years old, so no one would try to take him away from his stately home or government duties now. You can follow Larry yourself on site X, formerly Twitter, where he shares many insights and his own perspectives of the UK government.
