British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he could strike a trade deal with Donald Trump and avoid punitive tariffs on the UK, as he described Elon Musk's harsh criticism of his leadership as “noise.”
StarmerSpeaking to the Financial Times during a visit to Kiev, he insisted that Trump's inauguration on Monday would not add to his political problems, saying they had a “constructive” relationship that would withstand inflows from the next president's ally Musk, the world's richest man.
“What matters to me is my relationship with the United States and my relationship with President-elect Trump,” Starmer said, ignoring what the Financial Times recently revealed that Musk was exploring ways to oust him from Downing Street.
“Ultimately, my experience is that you have to focus on what matters,” he said, referring to Musk's suggestion that he is the leader of an “authoritarian” government. “Ignore the noise.”
Trump asked Musk to help his new administration reduce American bureaucracy. Starmer also said he would be “tough with cuts” if necessary to adhere to Labour's fiscal rules after UK borrowing costs rose in recent months.
Starmer places great importance on what he believes is a strong early relationship with Trump, despite the president-elect's close ties with his local rival Nigel Farage, and Trump's campaign in October, which accused Labor of meddling in the affairs of the country. American elections.
Starmer has repeatedly returned to the president-elect, who hosted him for dinner at Trump Tower in New York last September.
“He's made a tremendous effort,” Starmer said, sitting in a puffer jacket in a traditional Kanaba restaurant in Kiev, a log fire burning in the corner. “He came to New York to have dinner with me and I was very grateful for that.”
Now the relationship is about to be tested, especially if Trump follows through on his threat to impose new global tariffs.
“Tariffs are in no one’s interest,” Starmer said, as plates of dumplings and mushrooms began to arrive. Our ambition is to reach some kind of agreement with the United States, a trade agreement. That's where our focus is.”
Reaching a trade agreement between the United Kingdom and the United States has been the dream of successive British prime ministers since Brexit, but it has never been achieved. Starmer rejected the “false choice” in which he would have to choose between a deal with Trump or a better trade deal with the European Union.
The timing of Starmer's visit to Kiev on Thursday – days before Trump's inauguration – was a symbolic show of the UK's continued support for Volodymyr Zelensky: the two men signed a “100-year partnership” between the two countries.
But it was also an opportunity for Starmer to make clear to Trump that Britain is prepared to join France and other European allies by stepping up to the plate — perhaps by putting peacekeepers on the ground — if Ukraine agrees to end the war with Russia.
Trump told Zelensky and French President Emmanuel Macron last month that he expected the Europeans to secure peace, but Starmer said he was confident the new US president would help put Ukraine in the “strongest possible position” ahead of any peace talks.
“He is very aware of the contribution that the United States has made here,” said Starmer, whose visit to Kiev was accompanied by Russian drone activity over the city. “This is very important for both of us. I think he fully understands the critical role that the United States will play regarding this matter.”
Zelensky on Thursday listed the United States as one of those countries — along with Germany, Hungary and Slovakia — that oppose Ukraine's NATO membership. Starmer said he would “urge” those countries to keep the door open.
Meanwhile, Starmer was forced to put on hold a deal to transfer sovereignty over the Chagos Islands – home to the US/British military base Diego Garcia – from the UK to Mauritius amid concerns from some on Trump's team that it could hand its influence to China. .
“I think it's right that he scrutinizes it,” Starmer said, after the prime minister submitted to a request from Trump to study the deal before signing it. But he insisted the deal would ensure the base's legal future in the long term.
Will Trump be happy to see Starmer's continued rapprochement with Beijing, including his attempts to generate more trade between the UK and China? “Let's see,” he said. “The United States is our closest ally. It's usually better not to get ahead of ourselves.”
Starmer suffers from enough economic problems without Trump making them worse, at a time when Britain is struggling with the threat of “stagflation”, where the inflation rate exceeds the inflation barrier. Bank of EnglandA 2 percent target combined with near-zero growth. Business and markets are becoming increasingly bleak.
But the Prime Minister insisted that his long-term economic strategy was working and that his critics should stop getting hung up on daily economic data, dismissing suggestions that Rachel Reeves' future as chancellor somehow depended on whether inflation last month reached 2.5 per cent. Or 2.6 percent.
“I've always said it will take time,” Starmer said, arguing that investment in Britain is strong. “I don't think overreacting to every decimal point on a daily basis is necessarily reflexive. We know it's going to be a long-term ride.”
The yield on 10-year UK government bonds reached a post-financial crisis high of 4.93 per cent last week, but has since fallen to 4.66 per cent at the close on Friday. Government bonds rose as weaker-than-expected inflation, growth and sales data prompted investors to increase their bets on interest rate cuts from the Bank of England.
Starmer claimed that if borrowing costs exceed expectations and blow a hole in Reeves' financial plans, he would not hesitate to act, even if it risked a major showdown with Labor MPs and many of his ministers.
He added: “We will deal harshly with cuts if this is necessary.” “Ultimately, the fiscal rules and our commitment to them are strong.” Starmer insisted that last year's budget, with its £40bn tax rise, had laid the foundations for growth.
“It's about setting the circumstances, it's about stability, it's about certainty,” he said. “It's not about chopping and changing, it's about sticking with the decisions that have been made, even if they are difficult and right.”
Starmer's approval ratings have fallen since the general election and, according to a YouGov poll, Labor is now just one point ahead of Farage's UK Reform Party. Nerves at work are tense.
“I love battles,” Starmer said, thinking of the long train journey out of Kyiv. “I had to fight for the Labor leadership, I had to fight to win the election. Five years ago people said he wouldn't be able to do it, but I said: watch this space.”
Additional reporting by Ian Smith in London
