Victoria Starmer: Keir's private partner with the calming role

The intense scrutiny faced by politicians is all part of the job, but those closest to them can be more reluctant to step into the limelight.

Keir Starmer has so far kept his family out of the spotlight ahead of next month's general election, and his wife, Victoria, has not been seen on the campaign trail at all.

Some say the Labour leader and tipped future PM "would benefit from her support", said the Daily Mail, as she would tell "people about the real Keir". But it seems that "her absence is very much part of her husband's plan".

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So what do we know about Victoria Starmer?

'Would prefer low-key life'

Victoria Starmer, née Alexander, was "born and raised" in the North London constituency that her husband now represents, Holborn and St Pancras, said The Times. She attended Gospel Oak Primary School, followed by the private Channing School in Highgate. She then went to Cardiff University, where she was president of the students' union, "following in the footsteps of Neil Kinnock 30 years before". However, she "never wanted to go into politics".

She qualified as a solicitor in 2001 before switching careers to work in occupational health in the NHS. But it was in her former occupation that she met her then future husband. He was working as a senior barrister and rang her "to interrogate about her work", said Tatler. It was a "robust" start to their relationship. They married in 2007 and now live with their two children in a £1.75 million townhouse in Kentish Town.

While the now Labour leader is an atheist, his wife is Jewish and attends the Liberal Jewish Synagogue in St John's Wood. The family "uphold the Shabbat tradition of Friday-night dinners with family and friends as often as they can".

She would reportedly "prefer a low-key life",  and "doesn't like to use her title" of Lady, which was "bestowed" when Keir received his knighthood. 

The couple have "given some thought to how their lives will work" if they do end up moving into Downing Street, according to The Independent's John Rentoul, and are aiming to be "at the 'no publicity' end of the spectrum of recent prime ministers".

A public-facing role?

Although many leaders have set out to maintain a private family life,  most find that "the relationship with the media never works out quite as planned", said Rentoul. The Starmers are very "protective" of their children's identities, with a "no names, no photos" rule. But there will "have to be a public-facing role" for Victoria, even if it is "just holding Keir's hand at big events".

She "appears to live a happy and productive life" yet is already being criticised, said Catherine Bennett in The Guardian. While a politician's wife often risks being accused of "getting above herself", Britain's tipped future first lady is seemingly being "goaded for its suspected opposite" by the "right-wing press".

She is likely to continue to stay out of "day-to-day issues", even if her husband does become PM, said The Times. While she is the "one he rings before making a final big decision", her key role is how she "soothes over" the "damaged fragile egos" and the "fractured relationships that can happen in politics".

With the Labour leader known to trust "almost no one in politics and the media", and his "impatience at politics" being already visible, her "calming role may be important to all of us over the coming years".