Prime Minister adds his life story to shelves established by Ramsay MacDonald
Sir Keir Starmer has donated his own biography to the Downing Street library, joining works by Churchill, Thatcher and Attlee, as ministers add their own contributions to the 400-strong collection.
A book about the life of Sir Keir Starmer has become the newest addition to the Downing Street library, after being donated by the prime minister himself. Keir Starmer: The Biography, written by the journalist and former Labour adviser Tom Baldwin, now joins a collection of more than 400 volumes, some of which are kept in two bookcases in the Cabinet Room. The library was established in 1931 by the first Labour prime minister, Ramsay MacDonald, who, lacking the independent wealth of his predecessors, asked ministers to provide books for the shelves.
Seven ministers who served in Sir Keir's government have also made contributions. Former chancellor Rachel Reeves added her own book, Alice in Westminster: The Political Life of Alice Bacon, while Darren Jones, a senior minister between 2024 and 2026, gave Laudato Si: On Care for Our Common Home, Pope Francis's encyclical on environmental protection. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy offered All In: How We Build a Country That Works, and Nick Thomas-Symonds chose his biography of Harold Wilson. Bridget Phillipson picked Choose Freedom by Roy Hattersley, Jo Stevens donated a history of the South Wales miners, and James Murray gave Instruction to Deliver, Sir Michael Barber's account of his time in Tony Blair's government.
As Labour leader, Sir Keir did not appear to be much of a reader. In a 2024 interview, he struggled to name a favourite novel, and on Desert Island Discs he chose an atlas as the book he would take with him. His successor, Andy Burnham, an English Literature graduate, has spoken of his fondness for poetry, particularly the works of Tony Harrison and Philip Larkin, though he is unlikely to donate a volume at this early stage of his premiership.
The collection reflects the eclectic tastes of its contributors. Winston Churchill offered his history The World Crisis, 1911-18; Clement Attlee provided Purpose and Policy, a selection of his speeches; Margaret Thatcher gave her memoir The Downing Street Years. Ted Heath donated books about music and sailing, while Harold Macmillan contributed a collection of Rudyard Kipling. Desperate prime ministers in need of miracle solutions might turn to Magic Symbols of the World, donated by its author's husband, Frederick Elwyn-Jones. For escapism, there are works on birds, sea songs and French wines.
Boris Johnson revived the tradition after a few quiet years, donating his own The Churchill Factor, while Sir Mark Spencer chose Jeremy Clarkson's Diddly Squat. Rishi Sunak, an enthusiastic reader of Jilly Cooper, does not appear to have donated any of her bonkbusters. According to the Times, Iain MacLeod inscribed his book Bridge is an Easy Game with the words: "Perhaps this is the only book in this library which will bring true profit to its readers." Not all donations make it to the bookcases; some are kept in storage in the bowels of Downing Street.