Keir Starmer reveals greatest fear if he becomes prime minister

Sir Keir Starmer has spoken out about his concerns for protecting his two teenage children if he wins the next election.

The Labour leader looks set to become prime minister following the vote, with his party holding a daunting lead over the Conservatives which shows no sign of dissipating.

But he has never publicly revealed the identities of his kids – a 15-year-old boy and 13-year-old girl.

In an appearance on ITV’s Lorraine, Mr Starmer said he and his wife Victoria are worried that the teens may lose that ‘protected space’ if he becomes the most powerful man in the country.

‘I’m not daunted by any of the decisions we’ll have to make if we’re privileged enough to come into government – I do worry about my kids,’ he said.

‘We’ve never named them publicly, we’ve never done a photoshoot with them.

‘They go to the local secondary schools, they walk there, they walk home, and I want them to have that as a protected part of their life.

‘But look, our boy is 15 and a half going on 16, our girl is 13, they’re teenagers, and this will be probably the most difficult age for them if we manage to get it over the line and form a Labour government, I become prime minister.

‘I am worried about that. We’ve talked about this, Vic and I – my wife – all we can do is seek to keep that protection in place for them and let them live their lives in that protected way, but it’s going to be difficult.’

Keir Starmer made the admission in an appearance on ITV’s Lorraine (Picture: ITV)

He referenced presenter Lorraine Kelly’s own daughter, who is also 13, and said his son is into sports, emphasising how important the protection is for the pair of them.

Current PM Rishi Sunak rarely appears publicly with his young daughters Krishna and Anoushka, but he has allowed them to be photographed with the family.

He has also spoken about them in relation to some Conservative policies, such as his government’s drive to discourage children from becoming addicted to vapes.

Speaking on This Morning last year, the Tory leader voiced concern about his kids becoming ‘seduced by these things’, adding: ‘I have two young girls – that’s why I worry about it.’

Rishi Sunak with his wife Akshata Murty and daughters Krishna and Anoushka on holiday in Santa Monica, California, last August (Picture: Emma McIntyre/Getty Images)

The exact timing of the next election remains a mystery, though Mr Sunak has previously said his ‘working assumption’ is that it will take place in the second half of this year.

Labour believes a spring general election is likely, but after speculation this month that he was considering calling one in May, the prime minister said ‘nothing has changed’ in his thinking.

Elsewhere on Lorraine, Mr Starmer was asked how he responds to accusations that he is too ‘boring’ for the top job.

He said: ‘I have to say, I’ve been leader of the Labour party now for four years and I’ve been across the whole country talking to thousands and thousands and thousands of people about the challenges they face.

‘And none of them have said, “You know, Keir, what we need is a joke, we need an entertainer.”

‘They want to know, “Do you really understand what I’m going through? Do you understand what it’s like, and have you got a way of fixing this and making my life, my family’s life, my community’s life, my country, better?”‘

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