3 days Ago By Aimee Meade
Keir Starmer and his team recognised the potential for a second Donald Trump term in the White House long before the new president-elect won the election this week. It is why for months the Prime Minister has refused to be drawn into rows about Trump’s previous controversial comments or his thoughts on women, abortion or foreign affairs. The team around Starmer believe both men are ultimately pragmatists who will find ways to work together so long as both the UK and the US come out as winners.
But it will be in those areas where the partners do not see eye to eye where the potential for conflict is greatest. Step forward David Lammy . The Foreign Secretary will be responsible for holding the UK line in a number of near-impossible to navigate scenarios , from the future of Ukraine to the war in the Middle East.
Knowing this, the team around Lammy also started planning before the election, by trumpeting his credentials as a Christian who has written a book similar to JD Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy about the left-behind voters who carried Trump in to the White House. Lammy first met Vance before he was picked as Trump’s running mate and since then he has repeatedly talked up the relationship between the pair. Insiders say Lammy’s ability to understand how Americans operate – much more flamboyantly and with a lot more back-slapping than the politics conducted in dusty corridors in Westminster – has helped him make in-roads with a team not naturally inclined towards Labour.
But there are a couple of elephants in the room. In the past Lammy has called Trump a “woman-hating, neo-Nazi-sympathising sociopath”. Labour Party activists joined the Democrats to try and get Kamala Harris elected, a move Trump pounced on to make political hay with a lawsuit against his opponent.
Elsewhere Nigel Farage and Elon Musk have the ear of the new president – although to what extent it’s unclear. Both are highly critical of the Prime Minister and especially of Lammy. Trump is clearly willing to shrug off personal slights if he believes he gets a win out of the situation.
His decision to appoint Vance – a man who previously compared his new boss to Hitler – is the perfect example. But his good favour can be just as easily lost, and it is worth Labour looking to his relationship with Vance as a note of caution . On stage during his victory rally Trump introduced his vice president by highlighting the criticism he got for the appointment – both flagging his own brilliance and at the same time putting Vance on watch that not everyone thought it was so smart.
Vance in turn took just a few moments to speak, pouring deferential praise on the president-elect and cutting short chants of “JD, JD” – suggesting he knows that getting too big for his boots would put him at risk of falling out of favour. So what does this mean for Lammy and Starmer as the UK looks to build advantage and influence with the new US administration? Insiders on Whitehall believe identifying clear areas of co-operation early will be key to making the relationship work. Those close to Starmer point out he has worked with “all kinds of characters” as director of public prosecutions and had a convivial dinner with Trump in New York recently which both the PM and his Foreign Secretary left having felt they passed the Trump sniff test.
Downing Street isn’t too concerned about Lammy’s previous remarks either. They give Trump more agency than others who say he allows his ear to be bent by supporters like Musk. They also warn that Trump knows when he’s being sold a line and are confident that those around him who seek to play up political tension with the UK Government for their own personal gain will be given short shrift.
But – and this is the lesson Labour must learn fast – this works both ways. Trump hates the sense that people say one thing to his face and another behind his back – the notion that he isn’t taken seriously or that he is being played will do far more damage than being called a Nazi. The brittle nature of Trump is what makes him unpredictable .
Labour cannot rely on one dinner or one soundbite as proof he is willing to work closely with the UK because he can and does change his approach if he feels his own interest is threatened. Read Next Britain would now be leader of the free world..
. if it wasn't for Brexit Those on this side of the Atlantic recognise this and fear that Lammy may yet put the relationship at risk. The confirmation this week that Lammy will remain as Foreign Secretary for the next five years was unusual as this is exactly the type of question political spokespeople usually dodge.
By confirming his position so strongly Downing Street has also recognised the danger of wavering in its support. The big question is does Lammy actually regret what he said, or does he believe it still, deep down? Even a hint that Lammy is facing two directions at once could spell trouble for the UK. Lammy and Starmer must now walk a fine line.
They must be robust yet deferential, complimentary without damaging their own reputations here at home. Polling shows UK voters don’t back Trump and many are turned off by his views. How will it look for a UK prime minister to be cosying up to an American president so far removed from the electorate who helped Labour win power? And will Trump smell a rat if the man who once so robustly criticised him, now seeks to be his best back-slapping friend? Ultimately Downing Street has calculated that none of this matters as long as the US wants what the UK wants too, and both come out winners.
But with a tangle of international conflicts to solve and no clear route out, this could turn out to be wishful thinking. Kate McCann is political editor at Times Radio.
