Sir Keir Starmer said a strong UK-US relationship was “crucial” as he congratulated Donald Trump on his election as US president.
Speaking at Prime Minister’s Questions, Sir Keir said the world was “probably more volatile” than it had been for many decades, adding the two countries were the “closest of allies” and that he looked forward to working with Trump in the coming years.
Kemi Badenoch – making her first appearance in Parliament as Conservative leader – urged Sir Keir to apologise for comments previously made about Trump by David Lammy before he was foreign secretary.
And she pressed the prime minister on how Trump’s election would affect UK policies on trade and defence.
In opposition, Lammy labelled Trump a “neo-Nazi sympathising sociopath” but since getting into government has sought to build bridges with the president-elect and his team.
Sir Keir did not offer an apology but pointed to a dinner he and Lammy held with Trump in New York earlier this year.
“We discussed a number of issues of global significance – it was a very constructive exercise,” he told MPs.
Badenoch also asked the prime minister if he would push for Trump to get an invitation to address Parliament, but did not receive a direct reply.
Pressed afterwards on whether Lammy would keep his job for the entire Parliament in light of his past comments, the PM’s spokeswoman said: “Yes, he is the foreign secretary.”
Badenoch’s spokesman said: “The point is that this man is now the foreign secretary and he has said something that is quite offensive to the president and she wants to know, has he apologised.”
If not, the spokesman added, “why not?”
The PM’s spokeswoman declined to say whether backbench Labour MPs had been ordered not to comment on Trump’s victory.
She said the PM had not yet spoken to Trump to congratulate him but hoped to do so “in due course”.
The president-elect was hopefully getting some “well-deserved rest”, she added, and Starmer knows first hand how busy the first days after winning an election can be.
In the Commons, Badenoch said the US was the UK’s single biggest trade partner and warned the prime minister he would need to “look after the special relationship”.
She said there was now a “risk of increased tariffs on UK exports” and asked if he would revisit talks on establishing a free trade agreement with the US.
Since leaving the European Union, UK ministers have been keen to reach a trade deal with the US – however, there has been little progress.
During his election campaign, Trump pledged to dramatically increase tariffs on foreign exports.
Replying to Badenoch, Sir Keir said: “Of course we will discuss issues of our economy with the president-elect, as we already have done.”
On defence, the Conservative leader echoed calls from Trump that European countries should increase their defence spending and urged the prime minister to match her party’s commitment to raise defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2030.
Sir Keir reiterated his government’s commitment to the 2.5% target – although it has not set a deadline for meeting the goal.
He added that, unlike the previous Labour government, the Conservatives had failed to meet the target whilst in office.
He also attacked the Conservatives for leaving a £17bn black hole in the Ministry of Defence’s finances.
Labour accused Badenoch of misleading Parliament when she incorrectly told MPs that the “chancellor’s Budget did not even mention defence”.
Badenoch’s spokesman insisted she had not got it wrong because it was “obvious” from the context of what she had said in her previous question that “she was referring to the fact that there was no reference to how Labour intend to get to that 2.5%”.
In her Budget speech last week, Chancellor Rachel Reeves said “we will set a path to spending 2.5% of GDP on defence at a future fiscal event.”
‘Roll out the red carpet’
Trump’s election victory has divided UK politicians.
In a statement released on Wednesday morning, Sir Keir congratulated Trump, saying the UK and US would “stand shoulder to shoulder in defence of our shared values of freedom, democracy and enterprise”.
“From growth and security to innovation and tech, I know that the UK-US special relationship will continue to prosper on both sides of the Atlantic for years to come.”
Echoing his leader’s sentiments, Lammy also said he looked forward to working with Trump and his running mate JD Vance.
Offering his own congratulations, Scottish First Minister John Swinney said Scotland and the US “share many social, cultural and economic links”.
“In that relationship, we will stand fast in support of our values of fairness, democracy and equality – ideals that America was built upon.”
Badenoch said: “The world faces many serious challenges and I look forward to our two countries working together to confront them.”
Nigel Farage, Reform UK leader and a friend of Trump, said the president-elect was a “genuine friend of the United Kingdom” and urged the prime minister to “roll out the red carpet” for him.
“This is a huge opportunity to be grasped.”
‘Dark day’
Other UK party leaders have been more critical. Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey called the election result “a dark, dark day for people around the globe”.
“The world’s largest economy and most powerful military will be led by a dangerous, destructive demagogue.
“Fixing the UK’s broken relationship with the EU is even more urgent than before – we must strengthen trade and defence cooperation across Europe to help protect ourselves from the damage Trump will do.”
Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer called Trump “a dangerous bigot, bully, and liar”.
“On this dark day, we stand in solidarity with all US citizens who fear a convicted criminal and a fascist in the White House.”
And Labour London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who has repeatedly clashed with Trump, said many Londoners would feel “anxious” and “fearful” about what the outcome of the election would mean for democracy, women’s rights, the Middle East, Ukraine or tackling the climate crisis.
