Starmer’s address to nation comes after hiring Archbishop of Canterbury’s speechwriter

Sir Keir Starmer’s historic address to the nation, in which he delivered a message of hope and renewal, came only months after he hired the Archbishop of Canterbury’s speechwriter.

As Sir Keir prepared to challenge Rishi Sunak for the premiership, he sought to bolster his team with various carefully chosen appointments.

Among them was Abigail Martin, who worked at Lambeth Palace for six years, rising through the ranks from the archbishop’s parliamentary assistant to his speechwriter.

She was hired by Labour as the deputy speechwriter to the leader of the Opposition in January, as Sir Keir prepared for the general election campaign.

On Friday, his first speech to the nation as Prime Minister, following a landslide election victory, was focused on service.

He said: “I say to you directly, whether you voted Labour or not, in fact, especially if you did not, I say to you directly: My government will serve you.”

Observers also noted his choice of words such as “hope”, “spirit”, “belief”, “healing”, “mission”, and “renewal”, which reflected a narrative often delivered by the archbishop, the Most Rev Justin Welby.

Ms Martin spent five years studying at the Royal Ballet School before attending Charterhouse, one of the UK’s leading independent schools.

She then completed a master’s in biblical studies and Hebrew at the University of St Andrews.

Ms Martin received a joint credit on the archbishop’s book, Now You are God’s People, published in February, which explored how the first letter of Peter, in the New Testament, spoke to a modern audience.

Last year, only weeks before Ms Martin was hired by Sir Keir, she spoke at a conference organised by the UK Speechwriters’ Guild at Westbourne Park Baptist Church in west London.

Sir Keir is the first openly atheist leader in British history.

In an interview in 2021, he said he had a “lot of time and respect for faith”, adding: “I am not of faith, I don’t believe in God, but I can see the power of faith and the way it brings people together.”

Sir Keir, whose wife’s father is Jewish, has spoken about how they are raising their children “to recognise the faith of part of their grandfather’s family”.

That includes keeping Friday evenings free to observe a form of the traditional Jewish ritual of Shabbat dinners.