2 weeks Ago By Barney Davis
Sir Keir Starmer told Donald Trump he hopes the United Kingdom ’s special relationship with the US continues to thrive for years to come. The Prime Minister raised defence and the Middle East with the president-elect amid hostilies from Trump’s campaign team which had previously described Labour as “far left”. But the leaders shared a “fond” phone call in the aftermath of Trump’s historic political comeback four years after leaving office.
A Downing Street spokeswoman said: “The Prime Minister spoke to president-elect Donald Trump this evening to congratulate him on his historic victory. “The Prime Minister offered his hearty congratulations and said he looked forward to working closely with president-elect Trump across all areas of the special relationship. “From defence and security to growth and prosperity, the relationship between the UK and US was incredibly strong and would continue to thrive for many years to come, the leaders agreed.
“The Prime Minister also reflected on the situation in the Middle East and underscored the importance of regional stability. “The leaders fondly recalled their meeting in September, and president-elect Trump’s close connections and affinity to the United Kingdom and looked forward to working with one another.” Relations have reportedly been strained since foreign secretary David Lammy described Trump as a “neo-Nazi sociopath” when he was a backbench MP in 2018.
But Mr Lammy has put in hard yards to rebuild relations with the Republicans and US hard right, even defending Trump’s incendiary comments on Nato. The phone call came as it emerged most British people were unhappy that Donald Trump has been elected as US president, according to a snap poll. The poll of 4,807 adults on Wednesday showed that reaction in Britain has been largely negative, YouGov said.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has said the UK would make “strong representations” to president-elect Donald Trump about the need to protect free trade. Mr Trump has said he wants to increase tariffs on goods imported from around the world by 10%, rising to 60% on goods from China. At the Treasury Committee, Ms Reeves said: “We’re not just a passive actor in this.
“It’s a trade relationship with the United States and we will make strong representations about the importance of free and open trade, not just between ourselves and the United States, but globally,.
