LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — UK Labor leader Keir Starmer is a former human rights lawyer turned-state prosecutor whose ruthless ambition and formidable work ethic look set to propel him to Britain’s highest political office.

The 61-year-old, whose unusual first name was his socialist parents’ tribute to Labor’s founding father Keir Hardie, is also the center-left party’s most working-class leader in decades.

“My dad was a toolmaker, my mum was a nurse,” Starmer tells voters often, countering depictions by opponents that the one-time “lefty lawyer” is the epitome of a smug, liberal, London elite.

With his grey quiff and black-rimmed glasses, Starmer remains an enigma in the eyes of many voters, who will likely hand him the keys to 10 Downing Street in a general election on 4 July nonetheless.

Detractors label him an uninspiring opportunist, but supporters insist he is a managerial pragmatist who will approach being prime minister the same way he did his legal career: tirelessly and forensically.

“Politics has to be about service,” Starmer said in a recent campaign speech, repeating his mantra to put “country first, party second” following 14 years of Conservative rule under five prime ministers.

Sometimes appearing uncomfortable in the spotlight, the football-crazy Arsenal fan, who came to politics late in life, has struggled to shed his public image as buttoned-up and boring.