By Charles Gardner, UK Correspondent
Following the Labour landside in the British General Election, the nation long responsible for spreading the Gospel across the world is having to get used to a new Prime Minister who doesn’t believe in God.
Sir Keir Starmer, a lawyer who is a former Director of Public Prosecutions, is said to be the first “atheist” to occupy the post, though he has said he believes in the power of faith. Ironically, he was named after Labour’s founding father Keir Hardie, a devout Christian.
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Very little was known about his family before the election, but it is now revealed that Sir Keir’s wife Victoria is Jewish and that the family hold Shabbat dinners every week.1
It means that a Jewish family is occupying No 10 Downing Street, the traditional residence of Prime Ministers, for the first time in recent history. Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881) was the only British PM to have been born Jewish, though he became an Anglican (Church of England).
Lady Starmer was apparently born to a Jewish father with Polish ancestry, and her mother converted to the faith. Sir Keir is even said to have referred to Shabbat as a “rock in the week”, adding: “Every week there’s a challah (sweet bread), and we say kiddush.”
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For me, this is an astonishing revelation, which does offer hope for our future. My personal take on the Labour landslide is that it’s a judgment, not only on the Conservative Party for losing their way amidst a quagmire of internal squabbles, but on the country as a whole for turning her back on our Judeo-Christian foundations.
A staggering 40% of new MPs (up from 24% in 2019) refused to swear the oath of allegiance to God, in deference to their atheism, and as many as 25 called on Allah to validate their integrity.
There is also the ongoing problem of the vocal pro-Palestinian caucus within the party, which has been prone to pressure from Islamic communities to maintain a hostile relationship with Israel.
But now that he is safely ensconced in No 10 with a huge majority, Sir Keir may well feel less inclined to submit to such pressure. We can at least pray so.
He has, it seems, successfully dealt with much antisemitism within his party since Jeremy Corbyn – famously citing Hamas and Hezbollah as “friends” – proved an abject failure on the issue. That said, his successor is still criticised for not having spoken up about it earlier.
However, shortly after the October 7th massacre, Sir Keir expressed his “deep sense of shock” at the rise of antisemitism in the UK, adding: “We stand by Jewish communities here, and we stand by Israel internationally.”
In fact, his commitment to standing with Israel has even rendered his family targets for militant pro-Palestinian groups. He has also criticised the BBC for their refusal to label Hamas as terrorists, all of which has no doubt contributed to a swing back to Labour among Jewish voters.
I hope you will join me in praying for Sir Keir, as we have been doing since his days as Leader of the Opposition.
1Jewish Chronicle, July 5, 2024
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