Sir Keir Starmer, Britain's prime minister, has said he could enter into a trade deal with Donald Trump and avoid punitive tariffs on the UK as he says it is “noise” for Elon Musk's harsh criticism of his leadership.
Starmerspeaking to the Financial Times during a visit to Kyiv, he stressed that Trump's inauguration on Monday will not add to his political problems, saying that they have a “constructive” relationship that will survive the exit of the next president's partner Musk, the world's richest man.
“What's important to me is my relationship with the US and my relationship with president-elect Trump,” Starmer said, brushing aside the FT's recent revelation that Musk was exploring ways to oust him from Downing Street.
“Ultimately my experience is that you have to focus on the important things,” he said, referring to Musk's proposal to become the leader of a “tyranny” government. “Ignore the noise.”
Trump asked Musk to help his new administration cut US bureaucracy. Starmer also said he would have “no mercy” if he had to keep Labour's finance laws in the wake of rising borrowing costs in the UK in recent months.
Starmer has put a lot of stock in what he believes to be a strong initial relationship with Trump, despite the president-elect's close relationship with his local rival Nigel Farage, and Trump's campaign in October accusing his Labor Party of interfering with his party. US election.
Starmer repeatedly returned to the president-elect to host him for dinner at Trump Tower in New York last September.
“You put in a lot of effort,” Starmer said, sitting in a puffa jacket in Kyiv's Kanapa restaurant, a log fire burning in the corner. “He came to New York to have dinner with me and I really appreciated that.
The relationship is now about to be tested, especially if Trump follows through on his threat to impose new global tariffs.
“Taxes are of no interest to anyone,” Starmer said, as plates of dumplings and mushrooms began to arrive. “Our desire is to find some kind of agreement with the US, a trade agreement. That's where we focus.”
Some kind of UK-US trade deal has been the dream of successive British prime ministers since Brexit, but it has never materialised. Starmer rejected the “false choice” he had to choose between a deal with Trump or a better trade deal with the EU.
The timing of Starmer's visit to Kyiv on Thursday – days before Trump's inauguration – was a symbolic display of the UK's continued support for Volodymyr Zelenskyy: the two men signed a “100-year partnership” between the two countries.
But it was an opportunity for Starmer to show Trump that Britain was ready to join France and other European allies in stepping up to the plate – perhaps by putting peacekeepers on the ground – if Ukraine agreed to end the war with Russia.
Trump last month told Zelenskyy and French President Emmanuel Macron that he expects Europeans to protect peace, but Starmer said he is confident that the new US president will help put Ukraine in “the strongest position” before any peace talks.
“You know very well the contribution the US has made here,” said Starmer, whose visit to Kyiv was accompanied by a Russian drone program in the city. “That is very important to both of us. I think he understands the important role the US will play in this regard. “
Zelenskyy on Thursday listed the US as one of those countries – along with Germany, Hungary and Slovakia – that oppose Ukraine's membership in Nato. Starmer said he would “urge” those countries to keep the door open.
Meanwhile, Starmer has had to broker a deal to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands – home to the US/UK Diego Garcia military base – from the UK to Mauritius amid fears from some in Trump's party that it could cede influence to China. .
“I think it's good that he reviews it,” Starmer said, after the prime minister bowed to Trump's request to read the deal before it was signed. But he insisted the deal would protect the foundation's long-term legal future.
Would Trump be happy to see Starmer continue his relationship with Beijing, including his efforts to boost UK-China trade? “Let's see,” he said. “The US is our closest ally. It's often better not to think about ourselves first.”
Starmer has enough economic problems without Trump making them worse, as Britain grapples with the threat of “hyperinflation”, with inflation over the. Bank of EnglandThe 2 percent target is combined with growth near zero. Businesses and markets have expanded tremendously.
But the prime minister insisted her long-term economic plan was working and critics should stop getting hung up on daily economic data, rejecting suggestions that Rachel Reeves' future as chancellor was somehow dependent on last month's inflation being 2.5 per cent. or 2.6 percent.
“I've always said it's going to take time,” Starmer said, arguing that investment in Britain was strong. “I don't think overreacting to every decimal place every day is indicative. We know it's going to be a long journey.”
The UK's 10-year yield hit the financial crisis after 4.93 percent last week, but had fallen to 4.66 percent on Friday. Gilts came in weaker than expected as inflation, growth and sales data prompted investors to increase their bets on an interest rate cut from the BoE.
Starmer said that if borrowing costs exceeded expectations and blew a hole in Reeves' financial plans, he would not hesitate to act, even if it risked a major conflict with many of his MPs and ministers.
“We will be merciful with cuts if that is necessary,” he said. “Finally the financial rules and our commitment to them have been ironed out.” Starmer stressed that last year's budget, with a tax increase of £40bn, laid the foundations for growth.
“It's about setting limits, it's about stability, it's about certainty,” he said. “It's about not cutting and changing – it's about sticking to the decisions that were made, even though they were right and they were right.”
Starmer's approval ratings have fallen since the general election with Labour, according to a YouGov poll, now one point ahead of Farage's Reform UK party. Nerves on the Labor benches are fraying.
“I love the shape,” Starmer said, reflecting on the long train ride out of Kyiv. “I had to fight to get the leadership of the Labor party, I had to fight to win the election. Five years ago people said, 'he won't be able to do that', but I said, 'look at this space'.
Additional reporting by Ian Smith in London