It won’t be long before the removal vans turn up at the back door of No 10, to begin the arduous task of repatriating Keir Starmer and his family into normal life. This is when the real work of Victoria Starmer will begin – healing the broken heart of her husband, his dreams crushed under the stampede to get Andy Burnham crowned and in.
Attention is now turning to prime-minister-in-waiting Burnham’s wife of 26 years, Marie-France van Heel. Like Lady Victoria, Frankie, as many call her, is notoriously private, with predictions that she will shun the media as much as possible and loathe life in Downing Street should her husband become PM.
But I don’t buy that these smart, competent wives of ambitious men are wilting wallflowers. Van Heel will have been an integral part of Burnham’s journey to that glossy black door, and he would surely not have made his audacious moves towards Downing Street without her approval, counsel and backing.
Shorts
A prime minister’s wife is not nearly as powerless as some claim, and her experience can be entirely of her own choosing. Being in the public eye is never easy, but it is a huge privilege and you can achieve much with your time there, however short. Van Heel is practised at working with charities through her job, and it is here you can make a huge impact personally with a carefully selected agenda. My sister Samantha Cameron worked hard for good causes she supported, especially for disabled children, and loved it. Rishi Sunak’s wife Akshata Murty devised Lessons at Ten for schoolchildren and worked with Army veterans.
