Keir Starmer’s wife asked “who the f**k does he think he is?” after their first meeting, the Labour leader has revealed.
A former solicitor, Vic, as he calls her, did not take lightly to her future husband grilling her on the accuracy of some documents.
When they had finished speaking, over the phone, he overheard her say to a colleague: “Who the f**k does he think he is?”
“You might think, ‘Not the best of starts,’ but it was absolutely classic Vic,” he told Vogue magazine. “Very sassy, very down to earth, no nonsense from anyone, including from me.”
In a wide-ranging interview the man who would be the UK’s next prime minister said his experience working on death row cases had made him tough enough to be do the top job.
“My answer to that is: ‘Look, if you’ve sat in a cell with someone and had to make the decision about their case which could result in them living or dying, then you’ve had to take some tough decisions,’” he said.
He also said he and wife “share” the housework, although he admitted: “Vic would say she does the majority of it.”
When it comes to childcare, they had “the usual juggling as a family, particularly when our kids were very young”, he said, adding: “This is a massive issue for many families. Childcare is very expensive.”
The interview was carried out before this week’s U-turn on plans to spend £28 billion on green investments. Sir Keir Starmer has insisted Labour is being “straight” with voters amid criticism over the decision to ditch the key pledge.
MPs on the left of the party, as well as environmental groups, trade union allies and energy industry figures have expressed disappointment at the move.
