Starmer must not exploit Ukraine crisis for right-wing votes
With Trump and Vance attacking causes and values that British voters hold dear, Keir Starmer has to work harder to convey to a country shocked and appalled by the American administration’s behaviour whose side he is on, says Will Cooling
As Sir Keir Starmer flew back to London last week, he could have been forgiven for thinking that his American visit went brilliantly. President Trump had been nothing but complimentary to his British counterpart, visibly delighting in the hand-delivery of the King’s invitation for a rare second State visit. He even intimated that he was minded to support Britain’s deal with Mauritius over the Chagos Islands, which had been furiously attacked by the global online right.
Whatever joy he experienced must have proved fleeting, as the American Administration has since gone out of its way to display its contempt for Ukraine. Trump and his Vice President, JD Vance, berated the Ukrainian President in front of the world’s press, before summarily dismissing the country’s entire delegation from the White House and cancelling the signing of a new economic partnership between the two nations. They continued to smear Volodymyr Zelenskyy, demanding he apologise for disrespecting America, while also attacking European proposals for a peacekeeping force. Then, on Monday night they cancelled all shipments of military aid.
These repeated blows have left the warm words of Thursday feeling hollow. But given Britain and the rest of the world’s continued dependence on American arms, the British government is surely right to work hard to avoid a decisive breach with Trump, which would hurt Ukraine above everyone else. However, when Trump and Vance are so provocatively attacking causes and values that British voters hold dear, Starmer has to work harder to convey to a country shocked and appalled by the American administration’s behaviour whose side he is on.
Mandelson and McSweeney must be reined in
A key part of that work is ensuring he keeps his advisors on a tighter leash. Last week, Peter Mandelson, Starmer’s handpicked ambassador to Washington, strayed far too close to the Trump Administration’s stance on several issues. Most notably, he was slapped down by ministers after advocating for Ukraine to accept whatever peace deal that America and Russia agree between themselves. Likewise Mandelson’s stated enthusiasm for Britain to seize the “Brexit opportunity” that is signing a deal on artificial intelligence with the Americans – something that raises concerns amongst those worried about the recent behaviour of the American tech sector, especially Elon Musk.
Then there is the sense that some within the government, particularly Number 10’s chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, are using the crisis to adopt the type of right-wing cultural politics that they feel will help beat Reform and the Tories. Rather than leave the question of how he was going to pay for his increase in defence spending until the negotiations with the Europeans and the Spending Review had been completed, Starmer announced that it would be funded through a £6bn cut to the international aid budget. In her resignation letter, the former minister of state for international aid, not only highlighted that she had been left without sufficient budget to meet the key priorities that Starmer had outlined, but that these cuts came at a time when America is also slashing its international aid spending. Indeed, Anneliese Dodds went further and said that it suggests a commonality of moral perspective with those gleefully destroying USAID. And Rachel Reeves has made clear that they plan to pull the same trick with the National Wealth Fund, using what was meant to be Ed Miliband’s personal piggy bank for environmentally friendly infrastructure to fund weapons manufacturing. This, again, is happening at the same time Trump unpicks the green investments he inherited from President Biden.
There is the sense that some within the government, particularly Number 10’s chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, are using the crisis to adopt the type of right-wing cultural politics that they feel will help beat Reform and the Tories
Such political games only undermine the unity that Sir Keir Starmer needs if he is to keep his party, let alone the entire country, together during this moment of crisis. McSweeney may find social liberals annoying, but they are the backbone of Labour’s electoral coalition, including in those seats that have swung towards the left since Brexit. They are already having to swallow the party’s failure to aggressively increase public spending, and now they’re being asked to watch Starmer maintain a working relationship with an American administration they hate whilst ramping up military spending. That is a painful medicine for many to swallow. Starmer would do well to remember that whether it’s reassuring the left he shares their commitment to international aid or to green investment, a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine goes down.
Will Cooling writes about politics and pop culture at It Could be Said Substack