Why Keir Starmer’s life story won’t matter to red wall voters

An emotive back story doesn’t hurt in politics but with Starmer’s cautious account coming across in muted greys rather than bursts of technicolour, the red wall is likely to retain its shade of Tory blue, writes Sean O’Grady

Sir Keir Starmer became slightly emotional when interviewed by Piers Morgan – as would most people (ITV)

If Keir Starmer wanted to prove he wasn’t dull, that he was an emotional man with the power to move others, then telling his life story to Piers Morgan was a great success. The story of the life and, most poignantly, the death of his parents almost brought a tear to his eye, and that of the viewer, and possibly even to Morgan. On the other hand, the fairly friendly exchanges between the two men also confirmed what must be obvious to anyone who has had the slightest acquaintance with Starmer, which is that he is a clever, cautious lawyer. When Morgan, a bit clumsily, tried to put words into the mouth of his “witness” by suggesting that he’d taken drugs at university but not enjoyed them, Sir Keir Starmer QC, former director of public prosecutions, was well able to dodge it. “We had a good time at university” was the formula of choice. It must have been, for Morgan if not the audience, a bit of a let down.

Do back stories matter? Sometimes. Having a solid working class, trade-union background is a pretty substantial asset if you want to be elected deputy leader of the Labour Party, as Angela Rayner and John Prescott showed to their advantage. It doesn’t work so well for the leadership itself, which tends to go solidly to the lower middle, middle and upper middle class types, covering every leader from Attlee and Gaitskell through to Tony Blair and Jeremy Corbyn. Only Neil Kinnock serves as the exception, son of a coal miner and a nurse.

Starmer is very much in that line of middle-class Labour leaders. His father was a highly skilled toolmaker, though as Starmer pointed out, he was rather looked down upon because he worked on the factory floor. Starmer didn’t drag himself up from crushing poverty, and doesn’t pretend to, and has obviously done well for himself and made his parents extremely proud. However, rising up through the ranks of the law just doesn’t quite have the same romantic appeal as a start in life as a care worker (Rayner) or a merchant seaman (Prescott).