Keir Starmer

Sir Keir Starmer      (lawyer)
Born	1962-09-02 London, England
Alma mater	University of Leeds, St Edmund Hall (Oxford)
Children	2
Spouse	Victoria Alexander
Member of	Labour Friends of Israel, Trilateral Commission
Party	Labour
Shadow Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union  In office 6 October 2016 - Present Preceded by Emily Thornberry  Member of Parliament for Holborn and St Pancras In office 7 May 2015 - Present  Director of Public Prosecutions  In office 1 November 2008 - 1 November 2013 Preceded by Ken Macdonald Succeeded by Alison Saunders

Sir Keir Starmer (born 2 September 1962) is a British politician and barrister who has been the Labour Party Member of Parliament for Holborn and St Pancras since the 2015 General Election. On 6 October 2016 he was appointed Shadow Brexit Secretary by Jeremy Corbyn.

Keir Starmer is standing as a candidate in the 2020 Labour Party leadership contest. Between 2008 and 2013, he was Director of Public Prosecutions and responsible for the Crown Prosecution Service. According to Freedom of Information searches by the Italian journalist Stefania Maurizi, Sweden tried to drop the Assange case in 2011, but a CPS official in London told the Swedish prosecutor not to treat it as “just another extradition”.

In 2012, the Swedish prosecutor received an email from the CPS: “Don’t you dare get cold feet!!!” Other CPS emails were either deleted or redacted. Why? Keir Starmer needs to say why.

Career

Keir Starmer was the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and the Head of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) from 2008 to 2013. He has prosecuted in numerous cases for the CPS during his career, while acting principally as a defence lawyer specialising in human rights issues.

Labour leadership profile

Keir Starmer is the current frontrunner to take over from Jeremy Corbyn, with the bookies making him the clear favourite and many offering extremely short odds of 1/2.

Background

Keir Starmer was born in 1967 in Southwark, London. His father, Rod Starmer, was a toolmaker, and his mother, Josephine Starmer (née Baker), was a nurse. Starmer’s parents were both staunch Labour supporters, and they named Keir – their second son – after the first leader of the Labour Party, Keir Hardie.

In contrast to his three siblings who all went the the local Comprehensive school, Starmer passed his 11-plus exam and gained entry into Reigate Grammar school. Starmer then studied law at Leeds University, where he graduated with a first-class Bachelor of Laws (LLB) in 1985, before winning a place at Oxford where he graduated with a Bachelor of Civic Law (BCL) in 1986. What was Keir Starmer’s career before becoming an MP?

A year after graduating from Oxford, Starmer became a Barrister at the highly distinguished Middle Temple. He was then appointed as a member of the Queen’s Counsel (QC) in 2002, and moved to Doughty Street Chambers the following year.

Starmer’s legal work primarily consisted of human rights issues, with one of his most notable successes being the so-called “McLibel” case where he assisted two environmental activists, Helen Steel and David Morris, in a highly contentious case brought against them by the US fast-food giants, McDonald’s.

McDonald’s had accused Steel and Morris of libel after they produced and publicised a factsheet which contained numerous claims that were highly critical of the company’s ethics and practices. Both were refused legal aid in order to defend themselves, but received substantial pro-bono assistance from a number of lawyers, including Starmer.

During the trial, McDonald’s initially argued that all the claims in Steel and Morris’s pamplet were false, but, after almost ten years of legal wranglings, a number of the claims in the document were eventually proved to be true – including the claims that McDonalds did “exploit children“, that they were “culpably responsible” for unnecessary cruelty to animals, and that the company were “antipathetic” to the unionisation of workers and helped to “depress wages in the catering trade“.

In addition to his role in the McLibel case, Starmer undertook substantial legal work challenging the death penalty in the Caribbean and Africa, and he also worked as a human rights advisor to the Policing Board in Northern Ireland.

Following years of successful legal work in the field of human rights, and after being named QC of the Year in 2007, Starmer was named as the new Head of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in 2008.

During his role as DPP, Starmer oversaw numerous highly successful cases, including the prosecution and eventual conviction of a number of MPs and Lords who abused their taxpayer-funded parliamentary expenses, and the successful retrial of the killers of Stephen Lawrence. Criticism over the Jimmy Savile and John Worboys cases

Starmer has also encountered criticism for a number of decisions made during his time as DPP – including the failure to bring charges against the prolific paedophile, Jimmy Savile, whilst he was still alive. The decision was made despite the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) receiving substantial evidence of his crimes from witnesses and victims several years before the disgraced former BBC presenter died in 2011.

In 2013, Starmer made a personal apology for the decision not to pursue charges against Savile, but a CPS review claimed that police errors and mistakes by the principal lawyer dealing with the allegations led to the ultimate decision, rather than Starmer himself.

Starmer has also encountered criticism over the CPS’s decision to release the profilic serial rapist, John Worboys, from prison, as well as the decision not to pursue 75 further allegations made against him.

However, in 2018, the CPS issued a statement claiming the Starmer had no role in either of the decisions regarding Worboys.

And, speaking just a few days ago, Starmer reiterated the claim that it was the CPS who made the decisions in this case rather than him, stating:

“It is very important that if there are any allegations that anybody thinks have not been looked into sufficiently, or at all, that they go to the police so they can be looked into.

“It is really important that what is said is factually accurate. As you know the Crown Prosecution Service hold the file on this case. They made the decision in the case and it is really important that you go them to get an accurate read out of the decisions that have been made.”

Is he working class?

A number of media outlets have already criticised Keir Starmer over his apparently “middle-class“, “London liberal” status – claiming that Labour should be electing a working class voice in order to win back with their traditional voters. However, despite his distinguished career, Starmer actually comes from a far less privileged background then Boris Johnson, and even Jeremy Corbyn.

Starmer has previously described his background as working class, claiming his family “didn’t have much money“, and stating that his eventual success was not typical of someone with such a background:

“My background is not typical of a lawyer or a DPP. My dad was a toolmaker before he retired, so he worked in a factory all his life. My mum was a nurse, and she’s been physically disabled for years. We didn’t have much money, and they were Guardian-reading, Labour-leaning parents. That inevitably created an atmosphere where my thinking developed.”

Starmer also revealed that his mother was diagnosed with Still’s disease in her teens – a chronic and incurable illness which causes painful swelling to the joints and muscles. Shortly before his election as the MP for Holborn and St Pancras in 2015, Starmer opened up about his experience of his mother’s illness growing up, saying:

“She is very ill and has been very ill for over 50 years. She’s been on steroids for 50 years to deal with the disease. There have been huge and very damaging side-effects.

“She’s been in and out of high-dependency units for as long as I can remember. It was something we grew up with. I certainly have seen the NHS from the inside for decades.”

Starmer also cites his mother’s health battles as an inspiration for his choice to become a human rights lawyer and to enter into politics, telling his local paper in 2015:

“I wanted to be a human rights lawyer to change things for individuals who most needed my legal help and assistance.

“I became DPP because I wanted to change and improve the way we prosecuted cases. It’s always been a purpose-led route through my career. Doing things because there’s a job to be done.

“I think a bit of it comes from the determination of my mother. What I can’t stand is when people walk around a problem and can’t solve it so I have resolved not to do that.”

Whilst Starmer’s current financial status clearly means he cannot be considered working class anymore, it is extremely hard to criticise him over his upbringing or question his true motivation for choosing the career path he has.

A Blairite?

Quite simply, no.

Starmer only became an MP in 2015 – a full 8 years after Tony Blair resigned as Prime Minister. Furthermore, in 2003 – just 3 days before the Iraq War began – Starmer penned a Guardian article severely rebuking Blair and correctly stating that an invasion of Iraq would eventually be deemed illegal. Starmer also marched in protest against the war.

Whilst Tony Blair effectively capitulated to Thatcherite pro-greed, pro-war policies, Keir Starmer does appear to have consistently opposed them throughout both his legal and political career.

Whilst Starmer has not revealed much about his overall economic outlook, he has been quick to urge Labour not to lurch back to the right after the 2020 leadership election.

During his opening leadership pitch, Starmer also highlighted the fact that Labour must continue to oppose the “moral injustice of poverty, inequality, homelessness” whilst “advocating for internationalism and human rights.”

Starmer also took a swipe at Tony Blair over how far to the right he took the party during his tenure, stating:

“A Labour party that strays too far from its values, loses. In the end, the Labour party strayed too far from its values between 1997 and 2010.”

However, his record is not perfect. Starmer was one of the 184 Labour MPs to disregard the overwhelming view of the membership by abstaining on the Tories’ disgraceful Welfare Bill shortly before the 2015 Labour leadership election.

The bill was a horrific piece of Tory legislation which abolished legally binding poverty targets, slashed child tax credits, reduced the amount of housing benefit young people were entitled to, and implemented cuts to welfare payments for disabled people and the terminally ill.

Starmer has never apologised for his decision to abstain on the bill, and even tried to justify it after many of his constituents erupted in anger.

Starmer was also slammed by the Green Party’s Natalie Bennett, who said at the time:

“I think many Holborn and St Pancras constituents, including many who voted for Sir Keir, will be astonished that given his background in human rights, he failed to oppose the cutting of the benefits cap, when even at its current level a High Court judge said it put Britain in breach of its obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Similarly, the bill, in cutting child tax credit for third or later children in a family, is penalising children for being born into circumstances in which they had no choice.

“This bill makes significant cuts to the family tax credit many workers rely on to survive in low-wage Britain where so many jobs are insecure and fail to provide the regular and full-time hours that workers want. Sir Keir has failed to oppose a Bill that will make it harder for many already struggling households to put food on the table and keep a roof over their head. I don’t think this is what Labour voters expected when they cast their votes in May.”

Keir Starmer’s priorities?

Given his long career in the legal profession, Keir Starmer certainly cannot be accused of being a career politician. Furthermore, the challenges he faced during his early years appear to have instilled in him a core principle against injustice – one which he maintains to this day and which seems to have underpinned his career path from human rights lawyer to a politician seeking change.

Moreover, just days after being elected to his Holborn and St Pancras constituency in the 2015 General Election, a petition urging Starmer to stand in the leadership election to replace Ed Miliband garnered several thousand signatures. However, Starmer rejected the calls for him to throw his hat in the ring, stating that whilst he was very “flattered“, he believed Labour needed someone with more “political experience” to take the helm.

Throughout his career, Starmer appears to have a reasonably consistent track record of opposing injustice and standing up for what is right. However, in addition to abstaining on the 2015 Welfare Bill, Starmer does have another extremely large blot on his record.

During the infamous so-called “Chicken Coup” – where, less than a year after the Labour membership had handed Jeremy Corbyn a massive mandate to lead the party, numerous Labour Shadow Cabinet Ministers instigated co-ordinated resignations from the front bench in a deeply cynical attempt to remove him as leader.

In his resignation letter, Starmer – who was a Shadow Immigration Minister at the time – essentially claimed that because a lot of other Shadow Minister has resigned, he had decided to resign too:

Chicken Coup Resignation Letter

In the opening paragraph of Starmer’s letter, he claims that he initially “respected the mandate” that Labour members had given to Jeremy Corbyn to lead the party.

Starmer then uses two different excuses for his decision to disregard the democratic will of Labour members: claiming that the party needed a “louder voice” regarding Brexit, and that Mr Corbyn’s position was “untenable” because so many Shadow Ministers had resigned.

Starmer then went on to support the astonishingly dour, former big pharma lobbyist, Owen Smith, in the subsequent 2016 Labour leadership election.

Unfortunately, Starmer’s willingness to disregard clear democratic decisions in favour of what he thinks is right is not an isolated incident, with the Shadow Brexit Secretary becoming the architect of Labour’s decision to change their Brexit policy from respecting the result in 2017 to supporting a second referendum in 2019 – a policy regarded as the main reason that the party lost huge numbers of seats in their pro-Leave heartlands to the Tories in December’s General Election.

Whilst Labour may still have lost the election had they continued with their 2017 Brexit policy to respect the Brexit vote, they would unquestionably have been far closer to the Conservative Party in terms of votes – with the only genuine question being whether the Lib Dems would have been able to charge through the middle on their pro-Remain platform.

During the 2016 Chicken Coup, the right thing to do would have clearly been to trust the decision of Labour members, rather than an overwhelmingly right-wing and detached Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP), and support the democratically elected leader of the party. Had the PLP been united, Labour may well have been in a position to gain the few thousands extra votes neccesary to have formed a government in the 2017 General Election campaign.

Moreover, at the UK/2019 General Election, the right thing to do – electorally speaking – would have been to continue to support the democratic decision of the British people regarding the Brexit vote. Labour’s decision to support a second referendum is clearly not the only reason for their loss, but it was certainly a huge factor in the sheer scale of it – and Starmer was crucial in pushing the party towards it.

Keir Starmer is clearly not a careerist, and he is clearly not a Blairite. In fact, he seems like a very decent person and a highly principled man. However, in addition to blots on his record, there are very big questions regarding his political judgement. Is Keir Starmer the best choice to be Labour leader?

If he is elected, Keir Starmer probably won’t be a dreadful Labour leader. He certainly has decent principles, and he has consistently demonstrated a forensic ability to deconstruct and expose the garbage spouted by the Conservative Party during his time as the Shadow Brexit Secretary.

However, Starmer is also less radical than Jeremy Corbyn – and the lack of new ideas in Starmer’s opening leadership pitch is worrying. Whilst Labour’s manifesto is already chock full of popular policies, Starmer’s personal vision – other than simply keeping a lot of Corbyn’s policies whilst focussing on improving the image of the party to the electorate – is a complete unknown.

If Starmer is able to dramatically improve the image of the party, and he is then able to implement a lot of Corbyn’s redistributional policies, this would clearly be an extremely good outcome for both the British people, public services, the economy, and the Labour party itself. However, Starmer’s lack of personal political vision also raises questions about his long-term commitment to the current policy direction.

In terms of improving the image of the party, Starmer certainly has far less baggage than Jeremy Corbyn, and his legal career has only really thrown up a few extremely tenous instances that the right-wing media could use against him. He will not be an easy man to smear – but his pro-EU history and his ardent support for a second referendum will almost certainly be used by the right-wing media to try and convince the public that they cannot trust Labour to respect Brexit after it has happened.

Jeremy Corbyn was clearly far from perfect, but so is Keir Starmer. Politics is a huge balancing act, and Brexit was a crystal clear example that doing the right thing economically is sometimes not the best thing to do electorally. Leaders must be able to balance both identity and the economy in order to win power – but, with Brexit hopefully soon to be off the public agenda, the new Labour leader will be able to focus entirely on the party’s current hugely popular domestic platform.

With the Tories now entirely out of ideas on the domestic front – and without Brexit to distract the electorate and create a divisive culture war – the Labour Party will soon be clear to focus all their attention on ideas which will actually benefit people’s lives.

Should the new Labour leader be Keir Starmer, and should he resist the temptation to reopen the EU debate and does indeed maintain the vast majority of Labour’s domestic policies, it is entirely possible that Labour could gain power with him at the helm.

However, should a Tory Brexit create economic turmoil, Labour will almost certainly be subject to a relentless campaign from pro-EU organisations to support the prospect of rejoining. Will Starmer – who has always been unashamedly in favour of Britain being a member of the EU – be able to resist the urge to reopen the debate? It would – and still is – clearly be the right thing to do economically, but it would once again expose the party to significant electoral toxicity.

Whilst Starmer used his opening leadership pitch to rule out supporting any type of “Rejoin” campaign, it must be noted that it took him just a year to change his mind about respecting the will of the Labour membership over Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership when he wrongly believed opinion had changed significantly. It also took Starmer just over a year to change his mind about respecting the will of the British people over Brexit when he believed opinion had changed significantly. If the economy suffers even marginally after Britain does finally leave the EU next year, all the evidence indicates that Starmer will again disavow his latest committment and throw Labour’s support behind an irrevocably toxic Rejoin campaign.

As much as I like and respect Keir Starmer, reopening the Brexit debate so soon – under any circumstances – will ensure Labour remain out of power.

Unfortunately, given his record for reneging on precisely these kind of commitments, I simply don’t trust him to live up to his latest promise.

 

Appointments by Keir Starmer

Appointee	Job	Appointed	End
Jon Ashworth	Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care	7 October 2016	29 November 2021
Jon Ashworth	Shadow Paymaster General.	4 September 2023	5 July 2024
Jon Ashworth	Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary	29 November 2021	4 September 2023
Anneliese Dodds	Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer	5 April 2020	9 May 2021
Anneliese Dodds	Shadow Secretary of State for Women and Equalities	21 September 2021
Anneliese Dodds	Chair of the Labour Party	9 May 2021
Richard Hermer	Attorney General for England and Wales	5 July 2024
Richard Hermer	Advocate General for Northern Ireland	5 July 2024
Liz Kendall	Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary	4 September 2023
David Lammy	Shadow Foreign Secretary	29 November 2021	5 July 2024
David Lammy	UK/Foreign Secretary	5 July 2024
Lucy Powell	Shadow Secretary of State for Housing	9 May 2021	29 November 2021
Lucy Powell	Shadow Secretary of State for Culture Media and Sport	29 November 2021
Ellie Reeves	Shadow Minister for Prisons and Probation	4 December 2021
Ellie Reeves	Shadow Solicitor General	9 April 2020	4 December 2021
Rachel Reeves	Chancellor of the Exchequer	5 July 2024
Rachel Reeves	Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer	9 May 2021	5 July 2024
Rachel Reeves	Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office	5 April 2020	9 May 2021
Jo Stevens	Shadow Secretary of State for Wales	29 November 2021
Jo Stevens	Shadow Secretary of State for Culture Media and Sport	6 April 2020	29 November 2021
Wes Streeting	Secretary of State for Health	5 July 2024

 

Events Participated in

Event	Start	End	Location(s)	Description
Munich Security Conference/2024	16 February 2024	18 February 2024	Germany Munich Bavaria	Annual conference of mid-level functionaries from the military-industrial complex - politicians, propagandists and lobbyists - in their own bubble, far from the concerns of their subjects
UK/Parliament/Voted YES to vaccine passports in 2021			UK/House of Commons	These members of the UK Parliament voted YES to the introduction of a "vaccine" passport in 2021
WEF/Annual Meeting/2023	16 January 2023	20 January 2023	World Economic Forum Switzerland	The theme of the meeting was "Cooperation in a Fragmented World"

 

Related Documents

Title	Type	Publication date	Author(s)	Description
Document:Andrew Feinstein confirms GE candidacy vs Starmer	Article	21 May 2024	Steven Walker	Constituency resident Andrew Feinstein, who served as an MP in Nelson Mandela's government, will stand in Holborn and St Pancras at the 2024 General Election
Document:BBC Panorama Investigation Into Labour Antisemitism Omitted Key Evidence and Parts of Labour’s Response	Article	22 July 2020	Justin Schlosberg	The fact that the Labour Party is now settling libel cases brought by both John Ware and the Labour 'whistleblowers' is remarkable, not least because there is meant to be an ongoing internal inquiry into the leaked internal report, whose findings have now effectively been prejudged. But I’ve been told this will cost the party close to half a million in damages and costs.
Document:Batley and Spen by-election: Palestine becomes potential dealbreaker	Article	18 June 2021	Alex MacDonald	According to Coral, Galloway is currently on 50/1 odds to win, compared to 2/1 for Leadbeater and 2/5 for Conservative candidate Ryan Stephenson. William Hill has the Conservatives on 1/3, Labour at 5/2 and the WPGB at 33/1.
Document:Being anti-war does not make us apologists for 'the enemy' or anyone else	Article	28 February 2022	Lindsey German	I am proud to be an anti-war campaigner and I know there are many like me. I note that anti-war protesters in Russia are being lauded in the British media. I also support them and send them my full solidarity. The irony is that Putin will see them as the enemy within — just as our government (and loyal opposition) treats us.
Document:Brexit is the villain in accidental death of the economy	Article	6 August 2023	William Keegan	The Brexit miscreants who conned the nation just carry on shamelessly, while their replacements, Rishi Sunak and co, take up the banner and Keir Starmer, once a noble remainer, offends his natural followers by ruling out rejoining the EU or even the single market.
Document:Bristol West CLP condemns suspension of Corbyn	Article	10 November 2020	SKWAWKBOX	Labour’s hierarchy has banned CLPs from debating or voting on Corbyn’s suspension or the EHRC report and some Regional Directors have blocked attempts to do so. It seems Bristol West members hold their democracy and their former party leader in too high a regard to toe the line.
Document:Dear Mr Starmer, we fact-checked your 7 Oct statement. You’re welcome	blog post	7 October 2024	Editor	"Appalling mix of regurgitated and already-discredited lies with grotesque one-sidedness"
Document:Existence vs Expansion	blog post	21 July 2024	Craig Murray	The International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion is extremely lucid and decisive. The ball is now back in the court of the UN General Assembly, which requested the Opinion. The General Assembly now should move to suspend Israel’s membership of the United Nations. That is the next project on which I shall be working.
Document:Faiza Shaheen dropped by Labour for liking pro-BDS, Corbyn and Green Party posts	Article	30 May 2024	Peter Oborne	Left-wing Labour candidate Faiza Shaheen is deselected for 15 social media posts between 2014 and 2024 on issues from Islamophobia to Israeli lobbying, MEE has been informed.
Document:Five questions for new Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer about his UK and US national security establishment links	Article	5 June 2020	Matt Kennard	Keir Starmer did not become leader to help Labour win, but to restore establishment control over the party and vanquish the heretics that dared defy its agenda. For the forces he truly represents, the project has been a smashing success.
Document:Former Labour leader honoured by Palestinian Forum	Article	19 December 2021	Steve Walker	Jeremy Corbyn receives award for ‘remarkable efforts’ to support Palestinians against oppression
Document:Has Western Democracy Now Failed?	blog post	19 July 2023	Craig Murray	We live in a post-democratic society. That is difficult to accept, but it is true.
Document:Here’s What Really Happened When Labour Suspended Corbyn	Article	27 July 2021	Oliver Eagleton	If Keir Starmer was always unlikely to stand by his ten pledges and retain the bulk of the 2017 manifesto, some hoped he would at least bring a slickness and efficiency to LOTO that was missing under Jeremy Corbyn. After the suspension debacle, this is a hope that few can cling to.
Document:How Keir Starmer Sabotaged Rebecca Long-Bailey	Article	26 June 2020	Ronan Burtenshaw	Rebecca Long-Bailey’s approach to schools reopening had been entirely vindicated: she backed teachers and their unions as they changed the political terrain and forced the Tory government into a concession. This was politics in the best traditions of the labour movement but was anathema to Sir Keir Starmer.
Document:How top Labour officials plotted to bring down Jeremy Corbyn	Article	16 April 2020	Jonathan Cook	The stench of cover-up is already in the air. Keir Starmer's Labour needs to come clean and admit that its most senior officials defrauded hundreds of thousands of party members, and millions more supporters, who voted for a fairer, kinder Britain.
Document:I Stand in Blackburn	blog post	16 April 2024	Craig Murray	I am going to need help – leafleting, canvassing, manning offices and the many myriad tasks of an election campaign. I am buoyed by the solid start we have in support across all communities in Blackburn. We are going to give Starmer a roasting, we are going to take on the zionist monopoly of power, and it is going to be great fun!
Document:Jeremy Corbyn says “I Condemn Violence Against All Civilians, Why Can’t Keir Starmer?”	Article	12 October 2023	Jeremy Corbyn	In an interview with LBC, Keir Starmer was asked whether “cutting off power and water” to 2 million people, half of whom are children, was appropriate. He agreed that Israel “has that right”. Where is the empathy for Palestinians who have lost their loved ones, their homes and their futures? What happened to the universal application of international law?
Document:Jeremy Corbyn’s Opponents Burned the House Down to Stop Him - Now Keir Starmer Is King of the Ashes	Article	25 July 2020	Daniel Finn	By sacking Rebecca Long-Bailey on a trumped-up pretext, Sir Keir Rodney Starmer has set the seal on a drastic shift to the right for the Labour Party. That shift comes just as the key arguments by Jeremy Corbyn’s opponents to justify a break with his left leadership have been falling apart in the face of overwhelming evidence.
Document:Julian Assange Must be Freed, Not Betrayed	Article	18 February 2020	John Pilger	Sarah Ferguson's interview made no mention of a leaked document, revealed by WikiLeaks, called 'Libya Tick Tock', prepared for Hillary Clinton, which described her as the central figure driving the destruction of the Libyan state in 2011. This resulted in 40,000 deaths, the arrival of ISIS in North Africa and the European refugee and migrant crisis.
Document:Keir Starmer is a Long-Time Servant of the British Security State	Article	2 March 2021	Oliver Eagleton	Keir Starmer is sometimes praised for being an outsider in the world of politics (or mocked as too lawyerly and insufficiently political). But in reality, much of his work as Director of Public Prosecutions blurred the boundaries between prosecutor and politician – following the dictates of the Cameron coalition, negotiating with foreign officials on its behalf, and dropping or pursuing cases according to its interests.
Document:Keir Starmer's ‘antisemitism’ sacking is a signal that Israel is safe in his hands	Article	29 June 2020	Jonathan Cook	Crackdown by UK Labour leader on left-wing rival will subdue critics of Israel in his party ahead of Israel's annexation move
Document:Labour costs pass £500,000 in hearing over leaked antisemitism report	Article	31 August 2023	Aletha Adu	"Much of the Labour Party machinery from 2015-18 was openly opposed to Jeremy Corbyn, and worked to directly undermine the elected leadership of the party...from winning elections to building a functioning complaints and disciplinary process" – Summary of leaked internal report (page 29).
Document:Labour drops plans to stand at next general election	Article	9 February 2024	The Daily Mash	The Daily Mash, a satirical website reported today: “People like me have been saying Labour needed to appeal to Tory supporters for years. Now they’ve done it I’m going to vote Reform because I am a typical f**kwit British voter,” said Charlotte Phelps of Reading.
Document:Labour has ignored its voters – it is now paying the price	Article	24 June 2021	Paddy Hannam	George Galloway speaks to Spiked Online about the problems faced by the Labour Party, and his campaign in the 2021 Batley and Spen by-election
Document:Labour's next leader has already betrayed the left	blog post	21 February 2020	Jonathan Cook	The next Leader of the Labour Party is already a prisoner to the "institutional antisemitism" narrative. That means their hands are chained not only to support for Israel, but to the reactionary politics in which Israel as a Jewish state makes sense – a worldview that embraces its style of ethnic, chauvinist, militaristic, segregationist politics.
Document:Letter to Sir Keir from a newly resigned member of the Labour Party	Letter	8 April 2020	Bronagh Wilson	The Labour Party is now dead, it has ceased to be, it is bereft of life. You Sir Keir and your fellow travellers disgust me and it is time you PASOKed right off!.
Document:Losing the Plot: reflections on the Gaza debate debacle	Article	24 February 2024	John S Warren	It wasn’t the Nasty Nats that lost the plot. It was the Labour Party, and the Speaker. I trust they have now lost Scotland.
Document:Meeting the Gaze of the Ghost in the Rubble	Article	28 February 2024	George Gunn	Meanwhile the ghost still looks out from the rubble of Gaza. Her stare searches across the ocean of our conscience like the beam of a lighthouse. The ghost in the rubble asks of us all: why can we not stop this madness and feed the people?
Document:Netanyahu Plays Chicken	blog post	21 September 2024	Craig Murray	Netanyahu’s strategy of assassinations and deadly stunts appears to be an attempt to goad Hezbollah out of their own territory into a suicidal advance into Israel. But Nasrullah is not falling for it. It is worth stressing that, contrary to the propaganda, in the last year Israel has hit Lebanon with five missiles for every one sent by Hezbollah.
Document:No denial from Starmer that he has received ‘beergate’ fixed penalty	Article	1 July 2022	Editor	Labour leader fails to deny reports circulating in party that he has been fined by Durham Constabulary, while police force says only that it has not issued any ‘new statements’ on matter.
Document:On Gaza, Sunak's Tories and Starmer's Labour have merged into a single pro-war party	Article	22 January 2024	Peter Oborne	If the ICJ rules in South Africa’s favour then Rishi Sunak, as well as US President Joe Biden, will be wide open to the charge that they are aiding and abetting genocide. And so will Labour’s Keir Starmer.
Document:Pulling no punches at yesterday's rally for Palestine in Bath	Speech	17 November 2024	Jonathan Cook	"From their own mouths, Lammy and Starmer have told us who they are. They are genocide deniers. They are enablers of genocide. They are conspirators in genocide, just like those who preceded them in the British government."
Document:Rachel Reeves needs to develop some decent ideas very quickly	blog post	25 May 2023	Richard Murphy	Rachel Reeves is a person out of time, out of ideas, and right now with no answer to any question that might reasonably be asked of her. It's very depressing.
Document:Returning the Sausages	Article	24 September 2024	Mike Small	"Keir Starmer’s speech to conference was one of the most stage-managed and vapid addresses I’ve ever seen. It’s not enough to have hollowed out his party, the idea of being a protestor – or having values – or even using accurate language to describe the horrors going on in Gaza must be banned and mocked."
Document:Starmer’s Mortal Wound On The Soul Of The Labour Party	blog post	30 October 2020	Rachael Swindon	Starmer clearly believes he has now firmly established his own political identity and laid the foundations for the transformation of Labour’s electoral prospects – in the mould of Kinnock and Blair. It may be that he has simply destroyed his reputation for moral and intellectual integrity – and inflicted a mortal wound on the soul of his party.
Document:Starmer’s purges of Labour have mutated into the arrest of Palestine supporters	blog post	30 August 2024	Jonathan Cook	Britain’s authoritarian new prime minister is expanding the scope of already draconian laws to redefine his critics as ‘supporters’ of terrorism. Starmer wants to be judge, jury and executioner. We must not let him get away with it.
Document:Sunak likes the single market. So why doesn't Labour?	Article	5 March 2023	William Keegan	"I had many criticisms of Thatcherism and its impact on unemployment and social harmony, but one thing Margaret Thatcher got right was the importance of the EU single market and attracting Japanese, German and other firms to the UK. All this is now up for grabs by Starmer and his team."
Document:That Leaked Labour Party Report	blog post	20 April 2020	Craig Murray	That Leaked Labour Party Report proves conclusively that Sam Matthews’ allegations of unwarranted interference from Corbyn’s office to block anti-semitism action are malicious lies.
Document:The EHRC’s report into Labour antisemitism is the real ‘political interference’	blog post	7 November 2020	Jonathan Cook	It is instructive to compare the certainty with which the EHRC treats Councillor Pam Bromley’s ambiguous remarks as irrefutable proof of antisemitism in Labour with its complete disregard for unmistakably antisemitic comments from Boris Johnson, the man actually running the country. That lack of concern is shared, of course, by the establishment media and Jewish leadership organisations.
Document:The Forde Report and the Labour Right	blog post	24 July 2022	Craig Murray	About a third of the mass membership that Corbyn brought into the Labour Party has now left. Starmer, having lied his way through his leadership election, has now positioned the party very squarely back as Blairite and Tory Lite. There is therefore a very real argument that the Forde Report simply does not matter.
Document:The Notional Health Service	Wikispooks Page	17 October 2024	Craig Murray	"Today is my 66th birthday, so I am hoping that you will forgive an article that is at core the anecdotal ramblings of an old man. Sixty years ago or so, when my siblings or I were sick enough to be in bed, my mother would phone the surgery and the GP would come to our home to see us. This was perfectly normal. It is probably difficult for Generation Z to believe this really used to happen."
Document:The Rejection of Starmerism	blog post	5 July 2024	Craig Murray	"I don’t think any Prime Minister has ever come to power with less popular enthusiasm than Keir Starmer."
Document:The Zombie Apocalypse	Article	4 December 2021	Gordon Liddle	And then to look at the election of Sir Rodney Woodentop and one has to ask oneself: "Do I want him as a PM, who panders to the status quo to be elected, in order to allow the status quo to continue?"
Document:The arrest of journalist Richard Medhurst and the fight to defend democratic rights	Article	27 August 2024	Robert Stevens	Now, in a move that would have been agreed to by PM Keir Starmer and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, Labour has pioneered the use of an amendment to the Terrorism Act passed by the Tories to once again attempt to silence and criminalise a journalist and political activist. The same course is being pursued by governments throughout the world.
Document:The attack on Jeremy Corbyn is baseless – there is nothing to support it in the EHRC report	Article	29 October 2020	Chris Nineham	Jeremy Corbyn has a record of opposing antisemitism and all forms of racism that are second to none. It was in fact precisely his campaigning and principled approach to politics that got him elected as leader of the party in the first place.
Document:The conspiracy of lies about Corbyn that unites Sunak and Starmer	Article	8 November 2022	Peter Oborne	Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's abuse of his high office to smear Corbyn proves that he means to employ the same deceitful methods as his disgraced predecessor, Boris Johnson.
Document:There is no future for Labour in bureaucratic centrism	Article	11 November 2020	Ian Lavery	Whilst many in the media and party establishments are keen to turn back the clock to the bureaucratic centrism, progressives energised on both sides of the Atlantic, whether by Corbyn or Sanders, will define our future politics.
Document:UK Labour party teeters on brink of civil war over antisemitism	Article	27 July 2020	Jonathan Cook	Labour Party member Mark Howell is suing former General Secretary Iain McNicol for “breach of contract” and is demanding that those named in the leaked report be expelled from the party (see "Mark Howell for Justice": https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/mark-howell-for-justice/).
Document:What could go wrong for Keir Starmer? A lot actually, Laura Kuenssberg writes	Article	11 May 2024	Laura Kuenssberg	Following the May 2024 local elections Keir Starmer looks highly likely to be the next Prime Minister, but his future it is in doubt.
Document:Whatever happened to ‘due process’?	Article	21 November 2020	Hilary Wise	Starmer’s reaction suggests he will continue to pursue a course which he somehow sees as politically expedient. History tells us it risks leading the party into the most dangerous kind of authoritarianism.
... further results

Many thanks to our Patrons who cover ~2/3 of our hosting bill. Please join them if you can.