The mortgage on Sir Keir Starmer’s £2 million townhouse has been paid off, official documents show.
Sir Keir and Lady Starmer have achieved what many homeowners can only dream of – putting them in the top one-third of English homeowners in not having to make mortgage or rent payments.
The four-bedroom property, in north London’s trendy Kentish Town, officially became mortgage-free on Monday last week.
There was previously a loan from Barclays Bank noted on the Land Registry title deed, a public document. But on September 16, it was updated to show the loan has been ‘discharged’, meaning the high-street bank no longer retains any rights over the four-storey terraced house.
Previously the Labour leader has politically ‘weaponised’ his mortgage to attack the Conservatives. While in opposition, he condemned then-PM Rishi Sunak for failing to understand the anguish caused by rising mortgage rates.
Keir Starmer and his wife Victoria achieved what many homeowners can only dream of when their four-bedroom north London property officially became mortgage-free on Monday last week
Mr Starmer rehearses his keynote speech which he will deliver to the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool on Tuesday
Asked during a live event in June last year whether he and wife Victoria had been affected by rising rates, Sir Keir said pointedly: ‘Yes, we have a mortgage and ours has just gone up.’
Happily for the Starmers, this no longer appears to be an issue.
Sir Keir has long been at pains to play down his privilege and talk about his working-class roots.
However, during his 20 years as a top-flight lawyer, before moving into politics, his earnings have placed him comfortably in the country’s top 1 per cent of earners.
The Starmers bought their home in 2004 for £650,000. Since then they have carried out renovations, including a loft conversion involving the installation of two rooflights and a dormer window.
The property, which is in a sought-after area, is now estimated to be worth £2 million. Added to his £1 million gold-plated pension pot, the Prime Minister is believed to be worth around £3 million
Keir Starmer with his wife, Victoria Starmer at the UEFA Euro 2020 Championship Final between Italy and England at Wembley Stadium on July 11, 2021
Keir Starmer meets Naomi Campbell at the British Fashion Council Reception on September 16
During the 2020 Labour leadership contest, Sir Keir – who was paid up to £400 an hour during his two decades as a senior lawyer – played down his wealth, saying at one point ‘I’m not a millionaire’.
The 62-year-old is entitled to two annual salaries – one as a constituency MP and one as PM – totalling £166,786.
His wife, 50, works in the NHS in occupational health, having previously been a solicitor.
According to The Sunday Times, her salary is believed to be up to £50,000 pro rata.
In recent days, Sir Keir has been embroiled in criticism for taking more than £100,000 worth of gifts and hospitality during the past five years.
They include suits and spectacles worth £18,000 from Labour donor Lord Waheed Alli – who was yesterday seen in Liverpool clutching his own pair of specs and sporting a dark suit and white trainers.
The PM has also accepted a luxury box at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium.
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Keir Starmer declares there is ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ for the UK – as he pledges to lead a ‘great reforming government’ in Labour conference speech
Sir Keir Starmer will today declare there is ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ for the country as he pledges to lead a ‘great reforming government’.
In his keynote speech to Labour’s annual conference in Liverpool, the Prime Minister will try to lift the gloom that has threatened to envelop his tenure by arguing that making ‘painful choices’ now will eventually pay off.
Sir Keir will urge people to join a ‘collective’ effort to ‘renew’ Britain, saying it will involve a ‘shared struggle’.
He will say his project ‘will be tough in the short term, but in the long term it’s the right thing to do for our country and we all benefit from that’.
After weeks of bad headlines about the thousands of pounds of free gifts received by Sir Keir and senior figures such as Rachel Reeves and Angela Rayner, the PM will re-commit himself to ‘the service of working people’.
Sir Keir Starmer will today declare there is ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ for the country as he pledges to lead a ‘great reforming government’
Sir Keir will urge people to join a ‘collective’ effort to ‘renew’ Britain, saying it will involve a ‘shared struggle’
Chancellor of the exchequer Rachel Reeves (R) laughs with Keir Starmer (C) and Angela Rayner (L) before delivering her keynote speech to conference on Monday
The PM will acknowledge that many voters are ‘fed up’ with politics, adding: ‘I know this country is exhausted by and with politics.
‘I know that the cost-of-living crisis drew a veil over the joy and wonder in our lives and that people want respite and relief, and may even have voted Labour for that reason.’
But Sir Keir will not offer an apology for accepting more than £100,000-worth of freebies. One senior source said: ‘This is a speech setting out a ten-year vision for the country – not a discussion about a few suits.’
Ministers have been shaken by a fall in business confidence following gloomy rhetoric about the state of the economy.
But the PM will today appeal to voters – and Labour members – to stick with a plan that has already seen cuts to pensioners’ winter fuel payments.
He will say: ‘The truth is that if we take tough long-term decisions now, if we stick to the driving purpose behind everything we do: higher economic growth – so living standards rise in every community; our NHS facing the future – waiting lists at your hospital down; safer streets in your community; stronger borders; more opportunities for your children; clean British energy powering your home; making our country more secure… then that light at the end of this tunnel, that Britain that belongs to you, we get there much more quickly.’
Sir Keir Starmer rehearses his keynote speech which he will deliver to the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool on Tuesday
Labour politicians applause during conference on Monday
Rachel Reeves and Sir Keir Starmer share a joke on Monday at the ACC Liverpool
Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves at conference on Monday
It comes after Ms Reeves also tried to cut through her Government’s doom-mongering by saying there is a ‘prize on offer’ if the country makes the ‘right choices now’.
Delivering her speech to Labour’s conference yesterday, the Chancellor claimed her ‘optimism for Britain burns brighter than ever’ and her ‘ambition knows no limits’. But there were warnings that jobs growth has been stifled as growth slows amid ‘jangling nerves’.
Worse-than-expected monthly figures from the S&P Global purchasing managers’ index (PMI) suggested Labour’s tax-raising plans are taking their toll on the private sector.
Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said: ‘Investment plans in particular are reported to have been put on ice pending clarity on the new government’s policies, especially towards taxation.’ Separate data from the Confederation of British Industry revealed a sharp downturn in UK manufacturing, with firms ‘increasingly cautious’ ahead of the Budget.
Shadow Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said: ‘The last few months – and today’s speech – were a big opportunity to set out plans to grow the economy. The Chancellor once again wasted it with discredited attacks on the Opposition.’
