 As a youngster, Keir Starmer got teased for his uncommon first name. The father of the Labour Party, Keir Hardie. The equal rights of all men and women. Which was also the name of the 19th century founder of the political party Starmer would grow up to run. Another early hurdle for Starmer was class. He grew up in an affluent, conservative suburb of London. But his family was blue collars, says his biographer Tom Baldwin.