How Starmer ‘can show US he is serious’ after Tories’ ‘worst decision’ with ally

KEIR Starmer can send a serious message to the United States by kick-starting talks on a US-UK free trade deal when he begins his term as prime minister, experts have told The U.S. Sun.

Labour thundered to a landslide victory in Thursday’s General Election, dramatically bringing an end to 14 years of Conservative government.

Starmer succeeds Rishi Sunak as prime minister and will be rubbing shoulders with world leaders, including US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron, in the coming days.

Despite the change in government, the geopolitical climate remains uncertain.

Wars continue to rage in the Middle East and Ukraine, autocrats are on the march, and the threat of Chinese aggression in the Pacific has not disappeared.

Starmer has to make friends on the international stage.

Analysts, as well as former members of President Donald Trump’s administration, have called on the Labour leader to embrace Atlanticism.

The Labour leader won’t have time to make himself too comfortable in Downing Street as he will be joining leaders at the Nato summit which takes place on July 9-11.

“The Nato summit is a great way for Keir Starmer to show himself on the world stage he’s willing to work with all of his allies,” Sarah Elliott, the director of the UK-US Special Relationship Unit at the Legatum Institute, said.

“The free world has many more adversaries today than in previous years.”

Elliott urged Starmer to re-start talks on a potential trade deal and believes a successful outcome can be reached by the time Brits next go to the polls in 2028 or 2029.

“If he is able to get that across the line with whoever is in the White House, he will show himself and the Labour Party to be more competent than the Conservatives ever were for 14 years,” she said.

“A trade agreement is a symbolic demonstration that the US-UK relationship is not just a military alliance, it’s an economic alliance.

 “And it shows that America and Great Britain, the Anglosphere, are consolidating together to act against rivals like China.”

A UK-US trade deal was touted by politicians who backed Brexit, but little progress has been made following the referendum.

And throughout his presidency, Biden seems to have given the idea the cold shoulder.

Elliott said such a deal would bring benefits not only to Starmer on a personal level but to the Labour Party at large.

“It’s a great way to show the willingness of the UK to look across the Atlantic and say ‘Labour hasn’t been in power for some time but we deeply value the United States and we see the opportunities of working even more closely together. Let’s explore that, let’s lead, and let’s take a leadership role in the past,'” she said.

Starmer has stormed into Downing Street – just four and a half years after the Labour Party suffered its worst general election defeat since 1935.

Elliott has told how the opportunities could be endless – particularly if Donald Trump wins November’s presidential election.

“Labour will have the best Anglophile in office [if Trump wins],” Elliott added.

“The Conservative Party never took advantage of that. They never took him seriously and that’s the worst thing to do to your best ally in the world.”

NO GOING BACK

John Bolton, who served as national security adviser under Trump, also echoed those sentiments.

“One of the tragedies of Brexit is that after the referendum, Britain didn’t move quickly enough to get free trade agreements with the US and many other countries,” he told The U.S. Sun.

“I think that’s still possible and should still be an objective.

“I don’t know why anybody would consider going back into the European Union and re-impose the regulatory burden that Britain was able to get rid of, but you can’t just sit there isolated from the prospect of really significant improvements in market access.

“If I were in the Labour Party and we came to power, I’d certainly say we need the most advantageous trade agreement we could get with the United States, maybe bring Canada into it and our prospects would improve dramatically.”

Starmer has repeatedly stressed the UK will not be rejoining the EU, the single market and customs union.

He voted to remain in the bloc and was one of the main cheerleaders for a second referendum on membership.

Labour officials have spoken warmly of the special relationship and the party’s election manifesto described the US as an indispensable ally.

“Our special relationship is crucial for security and prosperity, and transcends whatever political parties and individuals are in office,” it said.

I don’t know why anybody would consider going back into the European Union

John Boltonformer national security adviser

Labour’s also committed to AUKUS – a trilateral security pact that includes Australia and the United States.

Leading Labour politicians prepared for more than a year about the prospect of potentially entering government.

David Lammy, who could be Britain’s next foreign secretary, went on sprints to the US and met with officials close to team Trump.

Starmer has repeatedly vowed to work with whoever is the US president.

Claire Ainsley, director of the Progressive Policy Institute project on Center-Left Renewal, believes there will be a smooth transition as Britain ushers in a Labour government.

“Despite any party differences, both the UK government and the US administration continue to see one another as allies and partners in a dangerous world and that will remain the case whoever wins the presidential election,” she said.

“David Lammy has made sure that he’s built those relationships and therefore their mutual interest is in understanding where there’s common ground and diplomatically resolving where there might be differences.”

FORGING ALLIANCES

The Democrats are facing a crisis as questions swirl over whether Joe Biden will remain in the race following his shambolic debate performance.

Current polls suggest that Trump will be returning to the White House in January.

But Ainsley, an ex-adviser to Starmer, is optimistic about how the US-UK alliance can be deepened despite the party political differences that would naturally arise if Trump becomes commander in chief.

“There is an opportunity for the UK to reset its international relationships because the UK has been through a phase where it has been dealing with its own issues following Brexit,” she said.

She revealed Starmer and whoever is in the White House can forge a relationship over common interests.

Labour will work with counterparts in Washington particularly on the issues of national defense and cybersecurity, but alluded to the economic challenges citizens in both countries could also bring some common ground.

Biden has since congratulated Starmer on his victory and the leaders emphasized the importance of the special relationship, per a White House statement.

The leaders are expected to meet at the Nato summit.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hailed Starmer’s historic victory.

“Lots of work ahead to build a more progressive, fair future for people on both sides of the Atlantic,” he said.