Who will be Keir Starmer's allies on the world stage?
Prime minister heads to Washington to begin building new international relationships
![Keir Starmer leaves 10 Downing Street](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/eWbqcHdzez2WUppJjvdpMJ-415-80.jpg)
Keir Starmer faces a whirlwind of international diplomacy during his first two weeks in power as he seeks to build alliances on the world stage.
The new prime minister has barely moved in to 10 Downing Street and he is already flying to Washington today to attend a Nato summit, before he hosts European leaders in Oxford next week.
What did the commentators say?
Starmer and Joe Biden have spoken "warmly" about the importance of the "special relationship" between the two countries in their first call together, said The New York Times. Not since Barack Obama's first term, from 2009-13, have Britain and the US "both been in the hands of centre-left parties", although it could be a "brief era" with the presidential election looming.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"That's not to say that British and American leaders from opposite parties can't work together." Obama issued a warning about Brexit at "the behest" of David Cameron, and Tony Blair "famously supported" George W. Bush's war in Iraq.
Trump and Starmer could even become "unlikely allies", said Oliver Duff on the i news site. Both men's teams realise they "may need to forge a new alliance in office, amidst global crises".
David Lammy, the foreign secretary, has previously described Trump as a "neo-Nazi sympathising sociopath", so he "may find that some of his earlier oratorical fury comes back to haunt him", said Eliot Wilson in The Spectator. But Lammy has been "meeting senior figures from the Republican Party in recent weeks", said Duff, in an effort to smooth relations between Labour and Trump's party.
Closer to home, Starmer is taking power at "a time of great strain" for France's President Emmanuel Macron, said Amelia Hadfield, a politics professor at the University of Surrey, on The Conversation.
"Cynics could argue" that this would strengthen Starmer's hand should he seek a better deal with France on managing cross-channel migration. But Macron could be a valuable ally of the prime minister's in seeking to "regain influence in the European Union".
Lammy is "understood to be particularly interested in realigning the UK with its historic connections with France", said Politics Home. The current uncertainty in France after the parliamentary elections makes Macron's relationship with the new prime minister "even more important" as he seeks support from various quarters.
Starmer has already built an alliance with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy by confirming that Britain's support for his military will continue. Relations with Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu could be thornier, particularly if, as reported by The Guardian, Starmer drops a bid to delay the International Criminal Court reaching a decision on whether to issue an arrest warrant for the Israeli PM over alleged war crimes in Gaza.
What next?
Starmer will be "mobbed" at the Nato summit this week, said Kim Darroch, who served as Britain's ambassador to Washington from 2016 to 2019, and "everyone will want to talk to him". His "remarkable" election victory might give him a "sheen of political stardust" with his fellow leaders, "for whom such victories have been in short supply" lately, said The New York Times.
But international relations are never easy and "tensions could emerge" at the gathering of Western leaders, said The Independent. The celebrations of an alliance that has lasted 75 years might be "overshadowed" by differences about levels of help for Ukraine and "when, or even whether" Ukraine might join Nato.
The following week Starmer will "play host" to 50 leaders at the European Political Community summit at Blenheim Palace. There, we can "expect to hear a lot of talk about improving relations", about "being a more reliable partner", and above all about "being more stable and predictable," foreign policy expert James Strong told Agence France-Presse.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Chas Newkey-Burden has been part of The Week Digital team for more than a decade and a journalist for 25 years, starting out on the irreverent football weekly 90 Minutes, before moving to lifestyle magazines Loaded and Attitude. He was a columnist for The Big Issue and landed a world exclusive with David Beckham that became the weekly magazine’s bestselling issue. He now writes regularly for The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, Metro, FourFourTwo and the i new site. He is also the author of a number of non-fiction books.
-
Jennifer Lopez files for divorce from Ben Affleck
Speed Read The famous couple are splitting after two years of marriage
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
DOJ investigates Tennessee's largest prison
Speed Read Federal authorities are looking into reports of substantial violence and sexual abuse at Trousdale Turner Correctional Center
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Obamas fire up DNC, warn of hard fight against Trump
Speed Read Barack and Michelle Obama closed out the second night of the Democratic National Convention by praising Kamala Harris and mocking Donald Trump
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
What will Joe Biden's legacy be?
Today's Big Question History is likely to be kind to outgoing president, but his time in office could still be defined by what happens in November election
By The Week UK Published
-
'The United States and other open societies must not be complacent'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Biden passes the torch to Harris on DNC's first night
Speed Read The president gave an emotional speech, citing his political efforts and urging voters to choose Kamala Harris
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
It does happen here
Opinion Our long history of rounding people up and kicking them out
By Susan Caskie Published
-
Is China winning the Global South?
Today's Big Question US leaders say America needs to step up
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
The Heritage Foundation's Project 2025 wants to reshape America under Trump
In Depth The project outlines a series of moves to transform the executive branch of the government
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Biden and Harris tout drug price cuts at joint rally
Speed Read The Democrats announced a deal with pharmaceutical companies to cut Medicare prices for 10 top-selling drugs
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Slash taxes on tips? Harris and Trump agree.
Talking Points Vegas workers might benefit. Will anybody else?
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published