Starmer’s ‘exasperation’ with Trump marks a turning point in UK-US relations

 

Analysis

Starmer’s ‘exasperation’ with Trump marks a turning point in UK-US relations

Rowena Mason

Whitehall editor

Prime minister’s response reflects political pressures inside Labour and growing unease about special relationship

 

Fri 23 Jan 2026 19.02 CET

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/jan/23/starmers-exasperation-with-trump-marks-a-turning-point-in-uk-us-relations

 

“Serious, calm, pragmatic, behind-the-scenes diplomacy” is how No 10 has been describing Keir Starmer’s approach to the chaotic world of Donald Trump’s administration.

 

That may have been how the week started – and tiptoeing around Trump’s volatility has been the hallmark of Starmer’s relationship with the president for a whole year.

 

However, the president’s two major digs at Britain first over Chagos and, more seriously, his claim that UK troops did not pull their weight in Afghanistan have finally provoked Starmer into a furious rebuttal.

 

Starmer’s demand for an apology over the “insulting and frankly appalling” words from the unrepentant Trump marks the worst week for US-UK relations since the president took over last year.

 

With characteristic understatement, the prime minister revealed that he had been “getting a bit exasperated” with Trump’s remarks about the UK – and appeared ready at last to draw a line in the sand about what is unacceptable to say about an ally.

 

Many Labour MPs will feel relieved that Starmer has hit back, having long felt uncomfortable about the UK sounding overly sycophantic towards Trump, especially when the British public is no fan of the US president, according to the polls.

 

 

Starmer may also have one eye on the threat he potentially faces to his leadership from the soft left in his party, with Andy Burnham considering a possible return to parliament in the Gorton and Denton byelection.

 

Standing up to Trump will not do Starmer any harm with his domestic audience or within his own party, but the gamble is clear for No 10 on the international stage, with world leaders, businesses and politicians all fearful of the president’s reactions to criticism.

 

But the prime minister’s bolder approach to Trump at least coincides with speeches from Canada’s Mark Carney and France’s Emmanuel Macron, who have made the points in Davos this week that middle ranking countries will need to stand together more.

 

Increasing distance with the US also leaves Starmer with the politically perilous but potentially appealing option of deciding to make the argument that the UK should move closer to Europe.

 

There are already voices within Labour urging the prime minister to protect against the unpredictability and now occasional hostility of America by strengthening ties with the EU again – with new scope for arguments about more pooling of defence and economic security.

 

And it also opens up the possibility of a political divide against Reform, given the public’s uneasiness about Nigel Farage’s repeated defences of Trump.

 

Although the Reform leader said Trump was “wrong” about the record of British troops in Afghanistan, Farage had earlier in the week raised eyebrows by suggesting that Greenland would be safer in America’s hands – even if it was a matter of sovereignty for the state and Denmark.

 

Although Reform remains firmly ahead of Labour in the polls, Starmer’s party has a chance to make some arguments that favour ties with Europe over Trump’s America. Perhaps the public might be more ready to listen than it has been in a long time.