Keir Starmer says wife Victoria’s career gives him ‘insight’ into NHS

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has said his wife’s career gives him “an insight” into the NHS.

With his party maintaining a significant lead in even the most cautious polls, Sir Keir said he has thought about how his family’s life would change if he became prime minister.

Speaking about his wife Victoria, who works in occupational health, he told the Times: “She’s absolutely going to carry on working, she wants to and she loves it.”

He added: “It’s also good for me because it gives me an insight into the NHS.”

Sir Keir said he wanted his teenage son’s education to be “untroubled” by a potential move to No 10.

He said: “Our boy is in the middle of his GCSEs. At the moment I just want to create the environment where he can get on with what he’s got to get on with as untroubled as he can be.

“He’s got 21 exams. My job is just to create space for him to get on with that.”

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s unexpected General Election call came as a welcome shock to the Labour team, Sir Keir said, adding: “We really wanted this to happen.

“We have been waiting for four and a half years for this and working every day to get Labour into a position where we can fight this election.”

Fighting rumours Labour are getting complacent, Sir Keir said: “Many people have decided they have had enough of 14 years of this (the Tories).

“Quite a lot have already decided they do want to come to Labour. But we have to address the fact there are a number of people who are still undecided.”

The Labour leader added that he was not concerned about those who could not pinpoint his ideological position.

He further told the Times: “I know quite a lot of commentators say, well we can’t seem to fix this guy on a political continuum, because people want to box you in.

“Are you in this place or that place? I make pragmatic decisions based on the issues as I see it in front of me. I don’t give a second thought to political positioning on that.”

Sir Keir has frequently said that he wants to change political culture so it “treads a little lighter on all our lives”, or to “return politics to public service”, and he said he will ensure that starts on his front bench.

He said: “There would be a mindset shift if we are privileged enough to come and serve. I will require my cabinet, front bench, all of our MPs to serve. That involves tough decisions.”