'Putting closer ties with the US first is a mistake - we need to look to Europe'
'Putting closer ties with the US first is a mistake - we need to look to Europe'
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Moving closer to our European neighbours rather than deranged Donald Trump’s America is a no-brainer... but when was an obvious strategy ever an easy political choice. Keir Starmer knows where Britain’s future leads and it’s not 3,500 miles away in Maga Washington DC. Instead it leads to Brussels, a short hop over the English Channel. Yet on the fifth anniversary of snake oil huckster Boris Johnson’s bad Brexit deal the Prime Minister is terrified of upsetting Trump – a man with whom he has formed, for now, a mutual flattery society.
We, the British people, want the government to prioritise more trade with the EU over the US. A YouGov mega-survey found that folk in every seat – including Kemi Badenoch’s and Nigel Farage’s – think the UK would be better off forging stronger economic ties with the Continent than with the USA. Starmer’s public line is that he needn’t choose between the EU and US but his position will be tested to destruction some time soon by Trump.
The issue that brings matters to a head could be tariffs, Nato, Ukraine, Gaza, Chagos Islands or Peter Mandelson’s appointment as Washington ambassador. Brexit begrets – with the national mood turning against self-harm and isolation – creates a political opportunity if Labour is brave enough to seize it.
Pressure is growing on the government to improve trade with the bloc, with Chancellor Rachel Reeves admitting that leaving Europe damaged the UK economy. It’s a baby step but she is “absolutely happy” to look at joining the Pan-Euro-Mediterranean Convention after EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic said Brussels “could consider” our entry.
