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The new biography of the potential prime minister includes Sir Keir Starmer’s heartfelt words about his father’s passing.
The leader of the Labour party has previously mentioned that his relationship with his father, who worked as a toolmaker, was not as close due to taking care of his mother, Josephine, who had a rare illness.
In 2015, his mother, who was a nurse for the National Health Service (NHS), passed away shortly before he was elected as a Member of Parliament. Three years later, his father also passed away.
As he assisted in organizing his father’s home, he came across a scrapbook containing clippings about himself from his youth, his time as a lawyer, and his career in politics.
The book was created by his father, who wrote dates below the clippings, but it had been concealed in the back of a cupboard.
Shortly after, he recalled his father expressing pride in him on only one occasion.
This caused Mary Seller, a family friend, to send him a letter.
According to Starmer in the new publication, Mary disclosed to me something that I was not aware of: my father was proud of me and loved me, even though he was unable to express it directly to me.
“I regret not having the chance to express my pride and love for him in person.”
In the novel, the author reflects on a memory of Rodney’s passing: “I sensed a change in him: he had given up. I also realized that any opportunity for my father and I to have a meaningful conversation and resolve our issues was now lost. We hadn’t embraced each other in years, not since I was a child. I considered hugging him in the hospital room, but it didn’t feel like the right thing for us to do.”
Instead, he chose to walk away. He reflects, “I was aware of his impending death but I didn’t turn back to share my thoughts with him. I regret not doing so.”
Following his passing, Starmer stumbled upon a scrapbook put together by his late father, filled with clippings of the toolmaker’s son.
In his biography, “Keir Starmer: The Biography” written by Tom Baldwin, Keir Starmer also discusses his younger brother’s challenging life with learning disabilities. He shares for the first time that he would get into physical altercations to defend his brother after he was taunted by other kids with words like “thick” or “stupid.”
During the past week, Mr. Starmer was asked about his personal efforts towards becoming the next prime minister.
During an interview with BBC Breakfast, he stated that he was striving to excel as a leader despite challenging circumstances.
Sir Keir had a difficult two weeks, during which his party changed its stance on investing £28 billion in environmental initiatives while in government. He also had to remove Azhar Ali as a candidate for the Rochdale by-election because Ali had previously made a statement suggesting that Israel was responsible for the 7 October attack by Hamas, resulting in 1,200 casualties.
On Friday, Labour emerged victorious in two by-elections against the Conservatives, marking a success. Sir Keir pointed out that the results reflect the country’s strong desire for change.
Source: independent.co.uk
