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Who is Keir Starmer? All you need to know about UK's new Prime Minister

The London-born lawyer who led Labour to victory

Sir Keir Starmer visited the Manchester Evening News offices earlier this year(Image: Manchester Evening News)

Sir Keir Starmer has been given the keys to No 10 Downing Street after leading Labour to a landslide victory at the general election.

The London MP, who first entered Parliament less than a decade ago, has taken his party from its worst defeat since the 1930s to a Blair-style majority in just four and a half years. It comes after the Conservatives faced a crushing defeat across the country last night.

Sir Keir was appointed Prime Minister on Friday (June 5), ending 14 years of Tory rule. He promised to 'rebuild Britain' in his new role.

READ MORE: Angela Rayner's real life story and her remarkable rise to power

During the election campaign, Sir Keir has made various promises to the public. But what do we know about the man himself?

The former human rights lawyer was laughed at when he told an audience during a TV interview that his dad was a toolmaker - a line he repeated regularly throughout his bid for power. But for many, this is all they know about the new Prime Minister's background.

Sir Keir Starmer speaks as Prime Minister for the first time(Image: Ian Vogler / Daily Mirror)

Sir Keir was born on September 2, 1962 to Rodney and Josephine. His parents, who were both Labour supporters, reportedly named him after the party's first parliamentary leader, Keir Hardie - but Sir Keir said in 2015 that he did not know whether this is really true.

His mother, born Josephine Barker, worked as a nurse. However, she was forced to give up her job after being diagnosed with an autoimmune condition called Still's Disease and sadly died shortly before Sir Keir became was first elected to Parliament in 2015.