Reassuring, serious, a sense of duty: who is Keir Starmer really?

The author of an acclaimed new biography of the Labour leader, reveals what has driven him to change his party – and why he now wants to do the same for the country

Over a cup of tea around his kitchen table a few weeks ago, Keir Starmer compared ­waiting for the general ­election to being in jail. “It feels like I’m chalking off the days on my cell wall before I can be released,” he told me.

Like many real prison inmates across the country recently, he’s been allowed out a bit earlier than expected by the government. Rishi Sunak’s surprise decision to call a 4 July election means the gates have swung open and the Labour leader is emerging into the white light of a campaign.