Keir Starmer contributes his own biography to Downing Street's historic book collection
Sir Keir Starmer has donated a biography about himself to the Downing Street library, joining a tradition of ministers adding personal works.
A new addition to the Downing Street library is a biography of Keir Starmer, written by journalist Tom Baldwin, placed alongside a catalogue of over 400 books that dates back to its founding by Ramsay MacDonald in 1931. The library traditionally receives gifts from serving prime ministers and ministers, and recent donations feature works from Rachel Reeves, Darren Jones, Lisa Nandy, Nick Thomas-Symonds, Bridget Phillipson, Jo Stevens and James Murray.
The collection also holds historic volumes from past leaders such as Winston Churchill, Clement Attlee and Margaret Thatcher, illustrating a wide range of political, philosophical and cultural subjects. Although Starmer has previously struggled to name a favourite novel and once chose an atlas on a radio programme, his contribution continues the practice of leaders leaving a literary mark. The library, housed in two bookcases in the Cabinet Room, also stores many items in off-site storage, preserving a diverse legacy of British political thought.
Why it matters
The donation highlights a long-standing tradition of British leaders shaping the symbolic Downing Street library with personal and political works.
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