The Notebook: I was a control officer during President Trump’s last state visit – here’s what to expect this
The overriding priority during this week’s state visit by Donald Trump will be ensuring nothing goes wrong, unfortunately that means different things to both sides, says Michael Martins
During President Trump’s last state visit, I was the landmark on Downing Street to show where the President’s car, the Beast, should park. That was the plan anyway – it turns out the secret service have a habit of doing what they think will best protect the President rather than obeying parking rules.
As President Trump returns to London this evening, and as the only person in the UK outside the US embassy that worked on Trump’s last state visit, I know the overriding priority will be ensuring nothing goes wrong – even though that will mean different things to both sides.
Both governments want to draw a line under Peter Mandelson’s resignation last week. Trump, however, will add his voice to the pro-Charlie Kirk rallies in London, a topic Starmer will aim to avoid. Trump will want to return home with a clear foreign policy “win” and Presidential-looking photographs alongside the King. Keir Starmer, meanwhile, will be desperate to avoid topics like the Israel/Gaza conflict and looking too close to the President just days before his anti-Trump party membership elects his new deputy leader.
Although the itinerary is tightly held, Washington will arrive with familiar demands. US trade officials will push the UK to liberalise its pharmaceuticals market and for lighter taxes on US tech and energy giants. The US sees Ed Miliband’s decision to wind down North Sea production as incoherent, weakening the UK’s resilience while undercutting its pro-business and pro-Ukraine stance. US megafirms announcing new AI data centres will also require cheap, reliable power – something Miliband is only making harder to deliver.
The real wildcard for all parties will be whether Trump meets Nigel Farage. For the Reform leader it would validate his lead in the polls and cement his role as Trump’s key British ally. For Trump, it would energise Maga supporters and boost his international standing. For Starmer, it would be a political nightmare just days before Labour conference. All reasons why I suspect it may well happen.
Spotted: a Labour MP calling for a tax cut
I thought I had misread it at first, but no, it was true. The chair of the business and trade committee, Liam Byrne MP, called for a tax cut a few weeks ago. It was buried at the bottom of a LinkedIn post, but still: more than a year into the first Labour government I’ve experienced in my 15 years in the UK, and this is the first time I’ve seen the words “tax” and “cut” appear together in a positive sentence written by a Labour MP. Warms the heart.
The Elizabeth Line is London’s NHS
The only thing that functioned properly last week was the Elizabeth Line. There when we needed it and getting us from point A to point B, albeit with a bit of a walk, it helped me to mitigate the business losses a week of nonsensical strikes brought. It worked so well, RMT will almost certainly target it in the next round of strikes we were promised by the government were not going to happen – in yet another parallel to the NHS.
I loved my first arms fair
I had never been to DSEI before, but now that Overton are working with several clients in the sector, I have to say that it was a very refreshing four days. At a time of absent economic growth and only sad tax changes coming, it was uplifting to be in a place where people were excited about the future and making big investment decisions. I also liked seeing so many MPs about – Will Stone MP, in particular, has done an excellent job positioning Swindon as the UK’s new drone manufacturing hub.
I have become obsessed with fantasy (American) football
Staying up until 3.30am on a Wednesday morning to do a fantasy football draft after a week of studying teams’ past performance may put some people off, but for me it was the beginning of my newest obsession.
Now that I can watch NFL in the UK and Passyunk Avenue has several bars open to watch live games, I am hooked. Some of my friends are fixated on players, others on offensive lines, but all of us can agree on one thing: it is the ideal forum to run your mouth with frenemies ahead of kickoff.
There are still weekly fantasy football options available, so I would highly recommend trying it out for a week to test the bonds of your friendships and to gear up for when the NFL visits London later this year.
Michael Martins is founder of Overton Advisory and a former US embassy political and economic Specialist