RICHARD KAY: Racing-mad, sassy and streetwise - how 'Lady Vic' will be the most formidable influence on her husband Sir Keir Starmer
It did not take long for Sir Keir Starmer's wife, Victoria, to make crystal clear her intention to 'lead her own life' after moving into No 10.
On Saturday, as her husband got his feet under the desk, first holding a cabinet meeting and then a news conference, Lady Starmer took herself off to the races.
She watched the Coral-Eclipse, one of the biggest fixtures on the Flat season calendar, at Sandown Park in Esher, where she was spotted with friends studying the form in a chic, green floral Me+EM dress and seemingly oblivious to the political drama she had left behind.
Racing is her great passion, inherited from her mother, Barbara, who was born in Doncaster on the edge of the town's famous racecourse.
'Vic's mum had horseracing in her blood and Vic loves it, too,' said Sir Keir recently — which explains why, on the kitchen wall of the Starmer family home in Kentish Town, North London, there is a photo of the finishing post at Doncaster.
Lady Starmer's visit to Sandown Park offers a glimpse into the life of the fiercely independent new chatelaine of No 10, a woman who at first glance has the perfect credentials for the wife of a Tory prime minister.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and his wife Victoria arrive to cast their votes in the 2024 General Election
Newly elected Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer with his wife Victoria Starmer enter his official London residence at No 10 Downing Street
Victoria Starmer (right), wife of Prime Minister Keir Starmer, attends Sandown Park Racecourse
Brought up in an affluent suburb of North London, her father was an accountant and her mother a popular community GP, and she was educated at the exclusive private day school Channing in Highgate, where fees today are £26,490 a year.
As we shall see, however, her politics is planted firmly on the Left — although her role in her husband's political life has always been in the shadows.
It was only on Friday that she finally stepped into the spotlight as Sir Keir basked in the success of his election victory.
And what a debut it was. Her glossy hair had the bounce of a fresh blow dry and her on-trend dress (ME+EM again) was in a stylish shade of Labour red.
Sir Keir Starmer and wife Victoria, Lady Starmer greet supporters as he enters 10 Downing Street from his time as director of public prosecutions — is hardly the first political spouse to try to dodge the glare of publicity.
But as Cherie Blair, the last Labour wife whose husband went from leader of the Opposition to PM, will surely tell her, living inside No 10 isn't always easy.
As her husband vowed that the work to renew Britain 'begins immediately', the new First Lady of Downing Street looked on with pride.
Most political partners arrive at that famous black door for the first time shattered by the emotion of the night before, Lady Starmer radiated vitality. But if there was a little apprehension behind those polished smiles, who could blame her?
Sir Keir Starmer and wife Victoria, greet supporters as he enters 10 Downing Street
Sir Keir Starmer and wife Victoria, Lady Starmer greet supporters as he enters 10 Downing Street
Sir Keir Starmer and wife Victoria, Lady Starmer greet supporters as he enters 10 Downing Street f
For almost the entire six-week election campaign, 'Lady Vic' — as she is affectionately known among Labour staff — has scarcely been seen. How very different from a previous generation of political wives (and husbands) who were often an essential part of life on the stump.
But make no mistake: Lady Starmer's wish to preserve her privacy does not mean she takes no interest in her husband's career. She does. According to insiders, the former lawyer-turned-occupational NHS health worker is the most formidable influence on Sir Keir.
Her absence from the political fray is, instead, part of her fierce determination to keep politics and their home life separate.
She has said to have been resistant to the idea of breaking up the family's happy existence in their tree-lined neighbourhood, close to Hampstead Heath. At its heart has been a steely resolve to protect their two children.
They have a son, who is doing GCSEs this summer, and a younger daughter whose name has never been confirmed publicly.
And the scale of Sir Keir's triumph has changed everything in the life of this supremely well-organised professional woman.
When Starmer has talked about the effect of his job on his children, it is with a sense of anxiety. 'I am worried about my children, that is probably the single thing that does keep me awake… how we will protect them through this,' he told broadcaster Nick Robinson.
For her part, Lady Starmer has never spoken about the children, but then this is hardly surprising from a woman whose appearances at Labour events can be counted on the fingers of one hand.
She did let slip to her husband's biographer, Tom Baldwin, her deep affection for Kentish Town where — until now — they lived. 'My husband thinks it's his constituency, it's actually mine,' she joked.
Close friends speak of her sense of humour — and what an asset it could have been as a counter-balance to her somewhat mechanical-sounding husband.
Insiders longed for the vivacious and glamorous 'Lady Vic' to join the campaign trail but neither Starmer nor his wife would hear of it.
Asked about her low profile, Sir Keir said: 'Whilst I was out and about on the road, we wanted to create the environment where [our son] could study calmly in ordinary circumstances.'
Today, as the reality of their new life sinks in, Lady Starmer may find it trickier to avoid the limelight.
So who is she — and, more to the point, how crucial has she been in her husband's stunning success?
Ironically, she did not reckon on becoming a political spouse — she and Starmer were both working as lawyers when they began courting. The first date? A drink at the Lord Stanley pub in Camden Town.
She studied law and sociology at Cardiff University where she became president of the Students' Union — like former Labour leader Neil Kinnock decades earlier
In 1997, she worked as a volunteer in Tony Blair's campaign headquarters before qualifying as a solicitor, initially specialising in street crime in Soho before switching to fraud
Their first encounter, however, had not exactly gone swimmingly. 'Who the f*** does he think he is?' the then-Victoria Alexander had demanded after a call from Starmer had been put through to her office.
He was then a barrister and she a solicitor and he was calling to query a brief she had sent him. He wanted to know if it was '100 per cent accurate'.
Assuring him that it was, she bluntly uttered the four-letter outburst thinking he had hung up.
'You might think 'not the best of starts',' Starmer admitted ruefully. 'But it was absolute classic Vic. Very down to earth, no nonsense from anyone, including me.'
She and her sister Judith were raised in London. Their father was born in Britain as part of a Jewish family who arrived from Poland before World War II, and their turf-loving mother, who converted to Judaism when she married.
While neither of the Starmers are particularly religious, Sir Keir has said that he and his wife make a point of observing Jewish traditions, including upholding the Friday night tradition of Shabbat. Invitations to the latter are prized because of Lady Starmer's reportedly excellent cooking.
She studied law and sociology at Cardiff University where she became president of the Students' Union — like former Labour leader Neil Kinnock decades earlier.
In 1997, she worked as a volunteer in Tony Blair's campaign headquarters before qualifying as a solicitor, initially specialising in street crime in Soho before switching to fraud.
And despite the unpromising beginning of their romance, love blossomed. Starmer told his biographer he felt he had found someone 'grounded… sassy, funny, streetwise and utterly gorgeous'.
He proposed on holiday in Greece. 'Won't we need a ring, Keir?' her sardonic reply.
They married in Essex in 2007. Their son was born a year later, and a daughter arrived in 2010.
After having children, she retrained in occupational health, leading Sir Keir to say: 'I get a direct line of sight on a daily basis into the challenges of the NHS and the morale of the staff.'
As he settles into Downing Street, Lady Starmer, whose passions also include music and food, will provide an even greater service to her husband — as long as she gets time to occasionally go to the races.
