Sir Keir Starmer has paid tribute to his ‘wonderful’ younger brother Nick who died on Boxing Day aged 60 after suffering from cancer.
The Prime Minister, 62, had been set to go on holiday with his family today but it is understood he will now stay at home.
He said in a statement: ‘My brother Nick was a wonderful man. He met all the challenges life threw at him with courage and good humour.
‘We will miss him very much. I would like to thank all those who treated and took care of Nick. Their skill and compassion is very much appreciated.’
A spokesperson for the PM said: ‘It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Nick Starmer.
‘Nick, 60, died peacefully on the afternoon of December 26 after battling cancer. We ask for privacy for Nick’s wider family at this time.’
Sir Keir had been due to spend Christmas with his family at Chequers, his official country residence, before going abroad for a few days over New Year.
The PM also has two sisters – Anna and Katy (who was Nick’s twin) – and a recent biography of Sir Keir revealed details of the Starmers’ upbringing in Oxted, Surrey.
Nick Starmer, the brother of Sir Keir Starmer, died on Boxing Day aged 60 after suffering from cancer
The Prime Minister paid tribute to his ‘wonderful’ younger sibling
The book, written by former Labour adviser and journalist Tom Baldwin, described how Nick suffered complications during his birth and subsequently had some fairly severe difficulties with learning.
Sir Keir said his brother’s technical qualification was ‘an achievement against the odds’ because, ‘Nick was dealt a very different set of cards to me and he’s had problems all his life — problems I’ve never had to face’.
‘I admire him, not in spite of the way his life has taken another course to mine, but because of it,’ the PM added.
He also spoke about how his parents instilled in Sir Keir and his sisters the idea you respect people for what they overcome.
‘I remember Dad saying to me many, many times, ‘Nick has achieved as much as you, Keir’, he said.
Sir Keir described how Nick’s school described him as ‘remedial’ and taught in a separate group away from his peers.
‘They had no expectation of him or anything, and I’m not sure he even sat exams, so he had nothing to show for coming out of education,’ he said.
‘I shared a room with him, but Nick didn’t have many friends and got called ”thick” or ‘stupid’ by other kids.’
The future Labour leader admitted getting into fights to protect his brother, who later went on to achieve a technical qualification before working in scrap cars and scaffolding.
Nick later got engaged to his girlfriend, with Sir Keir the best man at his wedding.
In his biography, the politician described borrowing a car so his brother wasn’t ‘driving his bride from the church in his beaten-up minivan, which had all his clothes in the back’.
After hearing there were no plans for a reception, he bought sandwiches from Tesco and ‘put some canvas thing up’ in Nick’s garden.
Unfortunately, the marriage did not work out.
Nick later moved to Yorkshire where he moved into a council flat before, in 2021, Sir Keir persuaded him to use the money he got from the sale of their parents’ home to buy his own house.
He became seriously ill a year later.
Sir Keir said in his biography: ‘The whole thing is so poignant… Nick has had a really tough life. So that dream our mum and dad had for us hasn’t come true. There’s this real, deep sadness in me about that for my brother, and for them.’
