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Sir Keir Starmer made the leap from Leader of the Opposition to Prime Minister in only four years, one of just a handful of politicians to have done so since 1945. Yet the landslide majority that Labour secured under him in July 2024 has been described as "loveless" and his first months in Downing Street have been overshadowed by rows and controversies, turning what should have been a political honeymoon into a period of sustained turbulence.
In this fully revised and updated edition of his 2021 biography of Starmer, Michael Ashcroft traces how he went from schoolboy socialist to radical lawyer and Director of Public Prosecutions before - aged 52 - becoming an MP, then Labour leader and now the occupant of Number 10.
Revealing previously unknown details which help to explain what makes Starmer tick, this careful examination of Britain's first Labour prime minister for 14 years offers voters the chance to assess his character and his political instincts. Having turned his party into an election-winning machine, his goal is to transform Britain into one of the most progressive states in the world. Does he have what it takes to succeed?

LORD ASHCROFT KCMG PC is an international businessman, philanthropist, author and pollster. He is a former deputy chairman of the Conservative Party and currently honorary chairman of the International Democracy Union. He is founder and chairman of the board of trustees of Crimestoppers, vice-patron of the Intelligence Corps Museum, chairman of the trustees of Ashcroft Technology Academy, a senior fellow of the International Strategic Studies Association, a life governor of the Royal Humane Society, a former chancellor of Anglia Ruskin University and a former trustee of Imperial War Museums. Lord Ashcroft is an award-winning author who has written twenty-nine other books, largely on politics and bravery. His political books include biographies of David Cameron, Jacob Rees-Mogg, Rishi Sunak, Sir Keir Starmer, Angela Rayner, Carrie Johnson and Kemi Badenoch. His seven books on gallantry in the Heroes series include two on the Victoria Cross.