My friend, MP and current Prime Minister Martin Prout

I have always liked and respected Keir Starmer since he sat around our kitchen table in 2014, seeking nomination as MP for Holborn and St Pancras.

This Thursday — Election Day — I woke up at 5 a.m. and walked around Camden looking for graffiti and spray paint that some of his opponents had smeared all over the precinct. I won’t tell you the worst of it, it’s already been removed.

From then on, it was a long day for him – he and his wife Vicky arrived at the polling station at about 9:30 a.m. to cast their votes, followed by a grueling campaign.

Finally, I joined my friends at the counting office in Camden and watched the ballots pile up until around 3am on Friday morning when Keir was announced as our MP.

As dawn rose over St Paul’s Cathedral, the night of celebration began.

First at the Tate Modern, with party staff, and then at Downing Street on Friday at noon.

These were two momentous days, as Kiir went from friend to prime minister.

I’m very proud of him, of course. But I know he’s a guy who can do it. Kipling asks the leaders: Able to “walk with a king while retaining the manners of a commoner.”

This is the day in the photo.