Starmer donates biography of himself to Downing Street library

Sir Keir Starmer has made a notable contribution to the Downing Street library by donating his own biography, Keir Starmer: The Biography, authored by journalist and former Labour adviser Tom Baldwin. This addition marks the latest entry in a collection that includes over 400 volumes, some of which are displayed in the Cabinet Room’s two bookcases. Established in 1931 by the first Labour Prime Minister, Ramsay MacDonald, the library has long served as a repository of knowledge and insight for successive leaders and officials. Starmer’s donation joins a list of recent additions from seven members of his government. Former Chancellor Rachel Reeves contributed Alice in Westminster: The political life of Alice Bacon. Darren Jones, who held a senior ministerial role between 2024 and 2026, donated Laudato Si: On Care for our Common Home, a work by Pope Francis advocating environmental stewardship. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy gave All In: How we build a country that works, while Nick Thomas-Symonds, a Cabinet Office minister in the previous administration, selected a biography of former Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson. Women and Equalities minister Bridget Phillipson donated Choose Freedom: The Future for Democratic Socialism by former Labour deputy leader Roy Hattersley. Jo Stevens, former Wales Secretary, contributed The Fed: a history of the South Wales miners in the twentieth century by Hywel Francis and David Smith. Treasury minister James Murray gave Instruction to Deliver, a book by Sir Michael Barber detailing his experiences as a civil servant under Tony Blair. Despite his current position as Prime Minister, Starmer appears to have limited engagement with literature. During a 2024 interview, he struggled to name a favorite novel, and during his appearance on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs, he opted for an atlas as the book he would choose if stranded on a desert island. His successor, Andy Burnham, an English Literature graduate, has expressed a preference for poetry, particularly the works of Tony Harrison and Philip Larkin. While Starmer is unlikely to contribute to the library at this early stage of his premiership, he may eventually explore its contents, which feature a diverse range of titles spanning politics, philosophy, history, and religion. Among the notable volumes housed in the library are The Law and Custom of the Constitution (three volumes), The Rhetoric of Aristotle, A Translation, and An Analytical Concordance to The Holy Bible. Many ministers have donated their own published works, including Winston Churchill’s The World Crisis, 1911-18, Clement Attlee’s Purpose and Policy, and Margaret Thatcher’s memoir The Downing Street Years. Other selections reflect personal interests: Ted Heath donated books on music and sailing, while Harold Macmillan, known for his love of reading, contributed a collection of Rudyard Kipling’s works. Some volumes serve more unconventional purposes. Magic Symbols of the World, donated by Frederick Elwyn-Jones, might offer solace to desperate leaders seeking miraculous solutions. For those seeking lighter fare, options include The Charm of Birds (donated by Foreign Secretary Edward Grey), Sea Songs (by Deputy Prime Minister Michael Heseltine), and The Book of French Wines (from Chancellor Geoffrey Howe). Iain MacLeod, a Conservative minister, donated his own book, Bridge is an Easy Game, with an inscription suggesting it might be the only volume in the library offering practical value to its readers. According to Politics Professor Clement Macintyre from Adelaide University, who has conducted extensive research on the library, the collection grew significantly after the 1930s. Before that period, the number of books in Downing Street was minimal. One prime minister, Stanley Baldwin, reportedly sent his staff to nearby libraries to verify facts and quotations. Macintyre noted that the library has evolved into a unique archive reflecting the intellectual and personal interests of those who have shaped British governance.