A biography of Sir Keir Starmer has joined the collection housed in Downing Street's library, following a donation made by the former Prime Minister himself. The work, titled Keir Starmer: The Biography and authored by journalist and former Labour adviser Tom Baldwin, was published in 2024 and now sits among more than 400 volumes accumulated since the library's establishment nearly a century ago.
According to his official government page, Sir Keir served as Prime Minister from 5 July 2024 to 20 July 2026. The donation of Baldwin's biography represents a tradition that has seen prime ministers and their ministers contribute volumes to the Downing Street shelves since the library was founded in 1931.
How did the Downing Street library begin?
The collection was established by Ramsay MacDonald, Labour's first Prime Minister, who sought reading material beyond parliamentary reports. Unlike many of his predecessors, MacDonald—the son of a farm labourer and housemaid—lacked independent wealth and had limited resources to furnish the official residence. He therefore invited his ministers to donate books, creating a practice that has persisted across successive governments.
Which ministers have recently contributed to the collection?
Seven ministers serving under Sir Keir's government have added their own selections to the library. Former Chancellor Rachel Reeves donated Alice in Westminster: The political life of Alice Bacon. Darren Jones, who held senior ministerial positions between 2024 and 2026, gave Laudato Si: On Care for our Common Home, a work by Pope Francis addressing environmental protection. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy offered All In: How we build a country that works, while Cabinet Office minister Nick Thomas-Symonds selected a biography of former Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson. Women and Equalities minister Bridget Phillipson chose Choose Freedom: The Future for Democratic Socialism by former Labour deputy leader Roy Hattersley. Former Wales Secretary Jo Stevens contributed The Fed: a history of the South Wales miners in the twentieth century by Hywel Francis and Davis Smith. Treasury minister James Murray donated Instruction to Deliver, a volume by Sir Michael Barber recounting his experience as a civil servant in Tony Blair's administration.
What does Sir Keir's reading history reveal?
As Labour leader, Sir Keir did not cultivate a public reputation as an avid reader. During a 2024 interview, he struggled to name a favourite novel, and when appearing on Radio 4's Desert Island Discs, he selected an atlas as the single book he would take to a desert island. This contrasts sharply with his successor, Andy Burnham, an English Literature graduate who has publicly expressed his appreciation for poetry, particularly the works of Tony Harrison and Philip Larkin. Burnham is unlikely to make an early donation to the library given the nascent stage of his premiership, though he may eventually browse the eclectic collection if time permits.
What kinds of books fill the Downing Street shelves?
The library contains a diverse range of volumes reflecting the intellectual interests of past prime ministers and their governments. Weighty works on politics, philosophy, history and religion predominate, including The Law and Custom of the Constitution (3 Vols), The Rhetoric of Aristotle – A Translation, and An Analytical Concordance to The Holy Bible. Many prime ministers have donated their own publications: Winston Churchill offered his history book, The World Crisis, 1911-18; Clement Attlee provided Purpose and Policy, a selection of his speeches; and Margaret Thatcher gave her memoir The Downing Street Years.
Other prime ministers' selections reveal personal passions beyond politics. Ted Heath donated books about music and sailing, while Harold Macmillan, a keen reader, gave a collection of Rudyard Kipling works. Jeremy Clarkson and Sir David Attenborough are among the authors whose books have been donated to the library.
The collection also includes lighter fare for moments of escapism. The Charm of Birds, donated by Foreign Secretary Edward Grey, Sea Songs contributed by Deputy Prime Minister Michael Heseltine, and The Book of French Wines given by Chancellor Geoffrey Howe offer respite from weighty matters of state. One particularly optimistic donation came from Conservative minister Iain MacLeod, who provided Bridge is an Easy Game and, according to historical records, inscribed it with the words:
Perhaps this is the only book in this library which will bring true profit to its readers.
For those in desperate need of unconventional solutions, Magic Symbols of the World, written by Pearl Binder and donated by her husband Frederick Elwyn-Jones, remains available on the shelves. Not all contributions make it to the display bookcases; many volumes are instead stored in the depths of Downing Street's lower levels.
How has the library evolved over time?
Enthusiasm for expanding the collection has fluctuated throughout its history. After periods of relative inactivity, the tradition was revived by Boris Johnson, who donated his own book, The Churchill Factor: How one man made history. Sir Mark Spencer selected Diddly Squat, Jeremy Clarkson's account of running a farm. Former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, though known to be an enthusiastic reader of Jilly Cooper novels, does not appear to have contributed any of her works to the collection.
One of the two bookcases housing the library can be observed in the far corner of the Cabinet Room, where it remains accessible to those working within the heart of government. The other bookcase is similarly positioned to serve prime ministers and their teams seeking intellectual sustenance during their tenure.
The donation of Sir Keir's biography comes at a time when his political career has undergone significant change. Following his resignation as Prime Minister in June 2026, he remained as MP for Holborn and St Pancras but stepped back from frontline politics. The addition of Baldwin's biography to the Downing Street library thus marks a formal acknowledgement of his tenure, preserving a record of his leadership for future occupants of the residence.
Key Facts
- The Downing Street library was founded in 1931 by Ramsay MacDonald, Labour's first Prime Minister, as a shared collection for government ministers
- Sir Keir Starmer served as Prime Minister from 5 July 2024 to 20 July 2026, during which time his biography by Tom Baldwin was added to the collection
- Seven ministers in Sir Keir's government contributed books, ranging from environmental philosophy to political biography and labour history
- The library contains over 400 volumes, with some stored in two bookcases in the Cabinet Room and others kept in storage within Downing Street
- Past prime ministers' donations reflect their personal interests, from Churchill's historical works to Heath's books on music and sailing
