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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Comment
Adrian Chiles

Why did Keir Starmer have his voice ‘fixed’? He sounded much better before

Keir Starmer on the podium
Stilted … Keir Starmer addressing Labour party members at the 2024 conference. Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian

Our prime minister, it turns out, has had many years of voice coaching. Some of this work apparently happened during lockdown and may or may not have been in breach of the rules then in place. This has been the main talking point, which is a shame, because a far more interesting topic is voice coaching itself.

I’ve had a fair amount of stick about the way I speak, so I don’t feel good about disparaging anyone’s voice. I’ll put it like this: Starmer’s voice isn’t his greatest asset. I wonder what response his voice coach could have got upon telling someone that the way he spoke was down to her. Embarrassed silence? It prompts the question: how bad can his voice have been before?

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