UK

Starmer reflects on what his parents would have made of him becoming PM

The Prime Minister said he wishes they could have seen him walk through the door of No 10 ‘because that would be very special for them’.

Sir Keir Starmer has said his parents would have loved to have seen him walking through the door of 10 Downing Street as Prime Minister
Sir Keir Starmer has said his parents would have loved to have seen him walking through the door of 10 Downing Street as Prime Minister (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

Sir Keir Starmer has said his parents would have loved to have seen him walking through the door of 10 Downing Street.

The Prime Minister has previously revealed that his parents’ proudest day was when he was knighted in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace in 2014, which they attended.

His mother, Josephine, was a nurse, and his father, Rodney, was a toolmaker.

Sir Keir Starmer was knighted by Charles, then the prince of Wales, during an investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace in 2014
Sir Keir Starmer was knighted by Charles, then the prince of Wales, during an investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace in 2014 (Yui Mok/PA)

Asked what they would have made of him walking through the famous black door of No 10, Sir Keir told Sky News: “They would have loved that.

“There is a real part of me that just wishes that they could have been (there) because that would be very special for them.

“Obviously, they’re not with us anymore. They wouldn’t have that moment.

“But I can’t pretend to you that I haven’t thought about that.”

Speaking to Sky from Washington DC where he is attending the Nato summit, Sir Keir said it was “not bittersweet”, but added: “I would have loved them to have been there, and they weren’t there.

“Vic (his wife Victoria) obviously lost her mum during the Labour leadership contest, so both of us had a thought and discussion about that.

“We would have loved our parents to have been there. They weren’t, but we smile because we know what they would have thought had they been there.”