The Japan Times - Keir Starmer: downfall of UK's unpopular PM

But barely two years later, he is standing down as the country's most unpopular prime minister in decades, despite being well-regarded internationally.

The grim-faced leader announced his resignation outside 10 Downing Street Monday, saying becoming prime minister had been "the proudest moment of his life", but he accepted he must go "with good grace".

In a rare show of emotion, he appeared to fight back tears as he paid tribute to his family, before walking away to a hug from his wife.

He had promised to turn the page on 14 years of Tory rule, and the chaos and infighting that had characterised its final iteration, including one government under Liz Truss that lasted just 49 days.

In his first speech as prime minister on July 5, 2024, Starmer, 63, promised a government of "service" that would "tread more lightly" on people's lives.

He sought to make a virtue of his more measured approach, contrasting what he saw as his pragmatic managerial style with the ideological bombast of previous Tory prime ministers, particularly Boris Johnson.

But dogged from the start by a series of U-turns and missteps, which angered even the Labour party faithful, the former human rights lawyer struggled to be the safe pair of hands he had claimed.

His scholarly, off-hand manner and lack of ideology also turned voters off.

- 'Stronger, fairer' -

Starmer is expected to be succeeded by Andy Burnham, the charismatic former Greater Manchester mayor who last week won a crucial by-election to return to parliament.

Where Starmer appeared stiff and awkward with the public, Burnham speaks passionately and seems to connect more easily with people.

Starmer insisted he was leaving the UK "far stronger and fairer" yet has one of the lowest popularity ratings ever among prime ministers at just 19 percent, according to a YouGov poll.

Born on September 2, 1962, Starmer was raised in a small semi-detached house on the outskirts of London by a seriously ill mother and an emotionally distant father who loved animals and rescued donkeys.

After university, he enjoyed a successful career as a human rights lawyer and chief state prosecutor which led to him being knighted by then Queen Elizabeth II.

A keen flautist and committed Arsenal football fan, Starmer became an MP in 2015, succeeding left-winger Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader five years later, following the party's worst general election defeat since 1935.

He showed his ruthless side by purging Corbyn, targeting antisemitism and moving the party back to the more electable centre ground, delivering Labour's biggest election victory in over two decades.

But his crackdown on Corbyn and his supporters, as well as his government's tough policy on migrants, alienated the left of his party.

A speech in which he said Britain risked becoming "an island of strangers" was condemned by many on Labour's leftwing.

- Dogged by Epstein -

His premiership got off to a rocky start when his government announced a hugely unpopular policy to remove winter fuel payments from millions of elderly people. He later backtracked.

It was among a series of humiliating policy climbdowns, including on reforming welfare benefits and shelving plans for an inheritance tax for farmers. And he angered businesses by increasing a payroll tax as well as the minimum wage.

The early months were also dominated by anger over a free gifts row, while in September 2025, Angela Rayner resigned as his deputy for underpaying a property tax.

That same month, Starmer sacked Peter Mandelson as his ambassador to Washington over the depth of the envoy's known friendship with late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The brief appointment, for which Starmer has apologised, created a furore and led to the departure of two of his closest aides.

Then came a series of humiliating local election results for Labour in May that amplified calls for his departure.

Starmer has been praised for standing up to US President Donald Trump over the Iran war and maintaining European support for Ukraine. Some also cheered his moves to strengthen ties with the EU, after the 2016 Brexit referendum.

He played up his achievements on Monday, including a fall in waiting lists for the National Health Service.

But devastating columns in the UK media have portrayed Starmer as a man of few convictions, who has dithered over making crucial decisions and been prepared to throw others under the bus.

H.Takahashi--JT