Starmer warned not to cosy up to Trump as new poll shows Labour voters want closer EU ties instead
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Exclusive: Nearly two-thirds of Labour voters say that with Donald Trump about to enter the White House they back closer post-Brexit connections to Europe. Keir Starmer has been warned not to “cosy up to the White House" as a new poll shows nearly two in three Labour voters believe he should build closer economic and security ties to Europe as Donald Trump returns to power.
![[The prime minister has promised to fix Britain’s damaged relationship with the European Union for the benefit of ‘generations to come’ (Niall Carson/PA)]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/05/12/5f4d220f8dac9ccba4901c798dc5645eY29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzMzNDg2Nzcx-2.33019459.jpg)
The Savanta poll, commissioned by the Liberal Democrats, also found nearly half of voters, 47 per cent, are concerned that Nigel Farage’s close ties with Mr Trump risk undermining the UK’s national interests. That figure was even higher among Labour voters, at 61 per cent. The prime minister has promised to fix Britain’s damaged relationship with the European Union for the benefit of “generations to come”.
But he has faced criticism for the slow pace of talks, and for rejecting a Brussels-backed youth mobility scheme to allow the under-30s to live and work in the EU. The new poll found 64 per cent of those who voted Labour at last year’s general election agree that the UK should build closer “economic and security ties with Europe” given Trump’s imminent arrival in the White House.
Calum Miller, Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesperson, said: “We all know what Donald Trump’s leadership looked like last time: inconstant, unreliable, occasionally menacing. “It’s no wonder voters are worried about how he’ll impact our national security - not to mention their pockets.
