As the UK woke up to the news of Donald Trump winning the 2024 US election, recently appointed new leader of the conservative party, Kemi Badenoch, highlighted the potentially tricky relationship ahead between Keir Starmer and Trump. She recalled the foreign secretary David Lammy’s jibes towards Trump, who called him a ‘woman-hating, neo-Nazi-sympathising sociopath’ and a ‘profound threat to the international order’, urging the Prime Minister to apologise on his behalf. Whilst both Badenoch and Starmer disagreed over who was engaging in petty ‘student politics’, Badenoch brought up an interesting question. Will Starmer and his government be able to maintain a good diplomatic relationship with Donald Trump?
Starmer congratulated Trump in parliament, stating that ‘as the closest of allies, we stand shoulder to shoulder in defence of our shared values of freedom, democracy and enterprise’. He also congratulated the president in a phone call, where the pair agreed that the relationship between the UK and US is ‘incredibly strong’. However, others in the Labour party disagree. London mayor, Sadiq Khan refused to celebrate Trump’s victory, stating that ‘many will be fearful about what it will mean for democracy and for women’s rights, or how the result impacts the situation in the Middle East or the fate of Ukraine’. Similarly, Nadia Whittome, MP for Nottingham East, claimed that Trump is a ‘danger to the rights of women, people of colour, the LGBTQ+ community and immigrants’ on X (formerly known as twitter) after news of his election came out. This varying discourse coming from within the party could prove awkward for Keir Starmer, whose main goal will be maintaining a healthy diplomatic relationship with Trump. The fact that Labour was the opposition when Trump was last elected in 2016 meant they could be more open in their dissent for Trump. Now as the government, Labour must put personal beliefs aside and maintain diplomatic relations with the US.
Why are good relations with the US so critical?
Well, Trump has threatened to place a 10% tariff on all goods imported from other countries, which led to Goldman Sachs reducing the UK’s growth forecast from 1.6% to 1.4% as soon as Trump was officially elected. As chancellor Rachel Reeves stated, ‘our economic relationship with the United States, is absolutely crucial. The US are our single biggest trading partner.’
Overall, it is clear that Trump’s decisions regarding the economy could have big effects on our own economy. Starmer must be feeling the pressure to maintain a good working relationship with the president in order to potentially persuade him to give more favourable treatment to the UK.
What does Donald Trump think of Keir Starmer?
In September, Trump said that he thought Starmer was ‘very nice’ and ‘very popular’. However, more recently, Trump has told associates that he thinks Starmer is ‘very left-wing’. There is an inherent ideological divide between Trump and Starmer. Starmer has previously defined himself as a socialist , whereas Trump has been long been thought of as being on the far-right wing. Even in political style, Trump is much more of a showman, whilst Starmer presents himself as pragmatic and professional (with less flair). It will be interesting to see how these two ideologies and personalities interact in the coming four years, especially if Trump’s policies are not favourable for the UK economy.
It is still very early days, so it is hard to know exactly how Starmer and Trump’s diplomatic relationship with play out. Will they be able to put aside their ideological differences and work together? Or will past remarks and tensions become too much for the pair to work through? Only time will tell. At this moment, Starmer has made clear he will attempt to create a good working relationship with the president, no matter his personal beliefs about Trump. With America being the UK’s biggest trade partner, it seems he has no choice other than to welcome the president with open arms and attempt to sway policy in the UK’s favour.