Keir Starmer pays tribute to brother, Nick, who died on Boxing Day
The prime minister described his brother, Nick Starmer, as a "wonderful man" after he died on Boxing Day as ITV News' Graham Stothard explains
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has paid tribute to his brother Nick, who has died aged 60.
Sir Keir described his younger brother as a “wonderful man”.
He died peacefully on Boxing Day, after being previously being diagnosed with cancer, a spokesman said.
The prime minister had been going on holiday with his family on Friday, but it is understood he will now stay at home.
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Sir Keir said in a statement: “My brother Nick was a wonderful man.
“He met all the challenges life threw at him with courage and good humour.
“We will miss him very much.
“I would like to thank all those who treated and took care of Nick. Their skill and compassion is very much appreciated.”
A spokesman for the prime minister added: “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Nick Starmer.“Nick, 60, died peacefully on the afternoon of December 26 after battling cancer.
“We ask for privacy for Nick’s wider family at this time.”
Sir Keir spoke candidly about his brother, who had learning difficulties due to complications at birth, in Tom Baldwin’s biography.
“We were a family of six, so it didn’t feel lonely and I shared a room with him, but Nick didn’t have many friends and got called ‘thick’ or ‘stupid’ by other kids,” Sir Keir said of his brother.
“Even now I try to avoid using words like that to describe anyone”.
The prime minister is the middle child of four siblings and while growing up in Surrey, the brothers shared a bunk bed in a room with an airing cupboard, and “just enough space for a couple of small desks where we’d do our homework”.
The biography recorded how each child of the Starmer family was given a dog for their 10th birthday, and Nick and his twin sister Katy received Jack Russell terriers called Greg and Ben.
The book also described how their mother, Jo, had taught Nick to read, but Sir Keir remembered how the school described his brother as “remedial”.
Sir Keir, the middle child of four siblings, said: “They had no expectation of him or anything and I’m not sure he even sat exams, so he had nothing to show for coming out of education.
It said Sir Keir was best man at Nick’s wedding, and the now Prime Minister recalled borrowing a car so his brother was not “driving his bride from the church in his beaten-up minivan, which had all his clothes in the back”.
The marriage ended and Nick lived for some time in Yorkshire.
In 2022, Sir Keir stepped away from local election campaigning to make several hospital visits to see his brother, who was seriously ill at the time.
The prime minister also spoke about Nick in his speech at this year’s Labour Party conference in Liverpool.
As he described his early encounters with art and culture, and the need to remove social barriers, Sir Keir told delegates: “My brother, who had difficulties learning, he didn’t get those opportunities.
“Every time I achieved something in my life, my dad used to say, ‘Your brother has achieved just as much as you, Keir’.
“And he was right. I still believe that.”
MPs including Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch offered their condolences to the Prime Minister following the announcement of his brother’s death.
Mrs Badenoch said “such awful news” was “particularly devastating at Christmas time”.
"My sincere condolences to @Keir_Starmer and all his family."
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