Keir Starmer is a grownup. He is serious, capable, responsible, authoritative and realistic – or so he and Labour would like us to believe. Ever since he became leader, two years ago this month, one of his main goals has been to present himself as a much-needed political adult: repairing the damage done to the party by the supposed perpetual adolescent Jeremy Corbyn; poised to rescue the country from the naughty schoolboy Boris Johnson.
From his strict suits and haircut to his no-frills speaking style and carefully researched Commons questions, Starmer has sought to come across as a sober prime minister in waiting, a reassuring figure in troubled times. He is 59, and if Labour wins the next election, he is likely to be the oldest successful candidate for prime minister since Harold Macmillan in 1959. It’s almost possible to imagine Starmer as a politician back in those more stable times.
