Keir Starmer spoke of his relationship with Donald Trump as he sought a US-UK trade deal

British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has dismissed as “buzz” criticism of Elon Musk’s leadership that he could strike a trade deal with Donald Trump and remove punitive tariffs on the UK.

StarmerIn a statement to the Financial Times during a visit to Kiev on Monday, Trump’s inauguration would not add to their political woes, the incoming president’s ally Mukh said they had a “constructive” relationship that would survive the impending demise of the world’s richest man.

“My concern is my relationship with America and my relationship with President-elect Trump,” Starmer said, brushing aside the FT’s latest revelations that Musk was exploring ways to oust him from Downing Street.

“At the end of the day, my experience is you have to focus on the issue,” Musk said, referring to his suggestion that he is the head of a “dictatorial” government. “Ignore the Lost Voices.”

Trump has asked his new administration to help cut American bureaucracy. Starmer said he would be “brutal with cuts” if it was necessary to comply with Labour’s fiscal rules following a rise in UK borrowing costs in recent months.

The president-elect has a close relationship with domestic rival Nigel Farage, but Starmer has banked on what he believes is a strong early relationship with Trump, and in October Trump’s campaign accused his Labor Party of meddling in the presidency. American election.

Starmer repeatedly responded to the president-elect when he hosted a dinner at Trump Tower in New York last September.

“He made a big effort,” said Starmer, sitting in a puffa jacket in a traditional Kiev restaurant with a fire burning in the corner. He came to New York to have dinner with me and I was very grateful for that.

The relationship is now about to be tested, especially if Trump follows through on his threat to impose new global tariffs.

“Tariffs don’t do anybody any good,” Starmer said, as plates of flour and mushrooms began to arrive. “Our goal is to have some sort of deal, a trade deal, with the US. That’s where our focus is.

Some sort of UK-US trade deal has been the dream of successive British Prime Ministers since Brexit, but it has failed to materialise. Starmer rejected the “false choice” of having to choose between a deal with Trump or a better trade deal with the EU.

Starmer’s visit to Kiev on Thursday – just days before Trump’s inauguration – was symbolic of the UK’s continued support for Volodymyr Zelensky: the two men signed a “100-year partnership” between the two countries.

But it was an opportunity for Starmer to convey to Trump that Britain is ready to join France and other European allies if Ukraine agrees to end its war with Russia.

Trump told Zelensky and French President Emmanuel Macron last month that he expected Europeans to keep the peace, but Starmer said he was confident the new US president would help put Ukraine in a “very strong position” ahead of any peace talks.

Starmer, whose visit to Kiev was accompanied by Russian drone activity over the city, said he was “well aware of the contribution America has made here.” “This is very important to both of us. I think he fully understands the important role the US plays in this regard.

Zelenskyy on Thursday listed the US as opposed to Ukraine’s NATO membership – along with Germany, Hungary and Slovakia. Starmer said he would “push” those countries to open the door.

Meanwhile, some in Trump’s team had to shelve a deal to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands – a US/UK Diego Garcia base – from the UK to Mauritius, out of fear that it could give influence to China. .

“I think it’s right to look into it,” Starmer said after the prime minister bowed to Trump’s request to study it before signing the deal. But he insists the deal will secure the foundation’s long-term legal future.

Will Trump be happy to see Starmer’s continued rapprochement with Beijing, including his attempts to create more UK-China trade? “Let’s see,” he said. “America is our closest ally. It’s good that we often get ahead of ourselves.”

As Britain grapples with the threat of “stagflation,” Starmer has enough economic problems to deal with if Trump doesn’t deliver, beyond inflation. Bank of England2 percent target combined with near-zero growth. Business and markets are becoming increasingly dark.

But the prime minister insisted his long-term economic strategy was working and his critics should stop closing in on daily economic data, rejecting suggestions that Rachel Reeves’ future as chancellor hinged on whether inflation was 2.5 per cent last month. or 2.6 percent.

“I’ve always said it will take time,” Starmer said, arguing that investment in Britain was strong. “I don’t think overreacting to each and every decimal point every day is necessarily reflective. We know it’s going to be a long journey.

The UK’s 10-year gilt yield rose to 4.93 percent last week post-financial crisis, but fell to 4.65 percent on Friday. Gilts mixed in weaker than expected inflation, with growth and sales data prompting investors to increase their bets on an interest rate cut from the BoE.

Starmer has said he will not hesitate to act if borrowing costs exceed expectations and blow holes in Reeves’ fiscal plans, facing major clashes with Labor MPs and many of his ministers.

“If necessary, we will be aggressive with cuts,” he said. “Finally, the fiscal rules and our commitment to them are ironclad.” Starmer insisted that last year’s budget had laid the foundations for growth with a £40bn tax hike.

“It’s about conditioning, it’s about stability, it’s about certainty,” he said. “It is not cutting and changing – it is sticking to the decisions made, even if they are strong and correct.”

Starmer’s approval rating has plummeted since the general election and Labor is now just one point ahead of Farage’s Reform UK party, according to a YouGov poll. Nerves on the labor benches are jittery.

“I love a fight,” said Starmer, reflecting on the long train journey from Kiev. “I had to fight for the leadership of the Labor Party, I had to fight to win the election. Five years ago, people said, ‘He can’t do it,’ but I said, ‘Look at this place.’

Additional reporting by Ian Smith in London