Sir Keir Starmer today admitted his teenage children are ‘worried’ about the prospect of moving into Downing Street next week.
The Labour leader, who could become Britain’s next PM at the upcoming general election, revealed his concerns about the impact on his family of entering No10.
Appearing on ITV’s This Morning, Sir Keir said he and his wife Victoria would ‘fiercely protect’ their children’s privacy should he win power on 4 July.
He conceded that his 13-year-old daughter and 15-year-old son were likely to be fearful of the possible disruption to their normal routines.
But Sir Keir joked that they would probably ‘ramp up their campaign’ for a family dog to make up for the changes to their lives.
The Labour leader met with puppy ‘Buddy’, who is being trained to help children with autism, while in the studio.
‘Look away!,’ the politician told the cameras, in a message to his family.
Sir Keir said: ‘We’ve got a cat, a cat called Jojo but my kids are on a campaign to get a dog. They’ll take any dog but a German Shepherd is what our daughter wants.’
He and Lady Victoria have tried to shield their children from the public eye by keeping them out of photographs and never naming them in public.
The Labour leader said he and his wife’s ‘guiding star’ had been ensuring their son and daughter were ‘happy and confident’.
He added: ‘As long as they are happy, as long as they are confident, then I’m smiling and that guides us in the decisions we make for them.
‘But I wouldn’t be being straight for them if I didn’t say I’m worried about the impact and, inside, I think they are.’
On a possible move to Downing Street, Sir Keir said: ‘They are worried, if I’m honest.
‘They are worried about it, because, I think any parent would understand this, if you are a teenage child you don’t want things to change.
‘You’ve got things set up at home exactly as you want them, you’ve got your friends, you’ve got your routines and you’re got your first little bits of independence, what you do after school.
‘It may not be a big thing but it’s the first (time), you can do what you want with your friends after school for a limited amount of time, whatever it may be.
‘All of that, I can see deep down they are worried this could change.’
Sir Keir confirmed his family would all live together in Downing Street if he became PM.