A special one?

Good morning. Keir Starmer can reflect on a successful first visit to Donald Trump’s White House. But his in-tray still looks much fuller and gnarlier than it would do had Trump not returned. Some thoughts on that below.

Starmer still hasn’t found what he’s looking for

As Keir Starmer returns to London, he, his team and the UK diplomatic service can reflect on a successful first visit to Donald Trump’s White House: at least as far as the headlines are concerned. A series of glowing appraisals of him personally, an endorsement of the Chagos Islands deal, and a great set of front pages and headlines for the government.

The government will even hope to avoid being hit by tariffs and that some kind of agreement on digital services might be an alternative to the full-fat — and doomed, for a variety of hard political reasons that need not detain us this morning — US-UK trade deal often talked about.

After visiting the White House, Starmer visited the US offices of Palantir, the US start-up whose government work, both on defence and on the provision of public services, is highly rated by this administration. (As it was by the last.)

You can see the outlines of something that works for all concerned, in policy terms: the UK government continues to buy technology that it thinks is top-of-the-range, it signs some sort of deal trumpeting that, and it avoids tariffs — trebles all round in Downing Street and the Foreign Office.

But: the big picture political thing that the UK government and essentially all of Europe wants is some sign that the combined Macron-Starmer charm offensive might do anything to pull Trump and the US back into the defence of Europe. That didn’t happen. I don’t think anyone reasonably expected that mission to succeed (there is a reason why Starmer already has another appointment in his diplomatic calendar to meet fellow European leaders) but nevertheless, this remains the single biggest problem facing the UK and its neighbours.

In addition, the long-term politics of all this look very fraught. Labour’s liberal base is essentially being asked to stomach: a) a rhetorically warm relationship with a president it hates b) slow, and in some policy areas, non-existent progress on domestic social policy c) cuts to the overseas development budget to finance increases in defence spending.

Whatever European-wide borrowing facility will, I’m sure, allow the government to increase defence spending further without breaking its electoral pledges on tax or its fiscal rules. But in terms of the UK economy’s persistent problem with above-target inflation, the issues with a borrowing increase for UK defence spending don’t go away just because you do it via a European rearmament bank or whatever wheeze you name.

So: a successful visit for Starmer personally and the UK specifically. But also one that confirms just how deep and profound the Trump challenge is for Starmer and how it will define much of his premiership.

Now try this

I saw Alterations at the National Theatre last night, and to be blunt, I did not care for it: some funny moments and a terrific cast can’t elevate a play where ultimately the central character is so unlikeable, yet the play’s dramatic tension hinges on the idea that we should root for him. Sometimes, when a play is revived after a 40-year hiatus you realise it was better left dead, and I wish that a modern playwright had been commissioned to write about the same subject.

However, the National’s flawless new version of The Importance of Being Earnest is now in cinemas across the United Kingdom and is absolutely worth your time. Find your nearest screening here. However you spend it, have a wonderful weekend!

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