When the ‘special relationship’ isn’t so special
1/23/202635 min
From ‘brilliant ally’ to ‘weak and stupid’ within the same paragraph, it’s hard to know how to handle the impulsive outbursts from America’s 47th President. And yet, this is the position in which the British prime minister found himself this week as he stood firm in the face of Donald Trump’s threats to Greenland.
Some back channel diplomacy in Davos helped put US European relations back on an even keel but it’s clear the so-called ‘special relationship’ is under strain. So where does Keir Starmer turn now? Does he stick with the decades-old transatlantic alliance, does he push for more European integration, or does he look further afield to China?
To discuss this and more, political editor George Parker is joined by Whitehall editor Lucy Fisher, columnist and writer of the ‘Inside Politics’ newsletter Stephen Bush, and the FT’s foreign editor Alec Russell.
Follow: George on X @GeorgeWParker or Bluesky: @georgewparker.bsky.social, Lucy @LOS_Fisher or @lucyfisher.ft.com; Stephen: @stephenkb @stephenkb.bsky.social & Alec Russel on X:https://x.com/alecurussell
Want more?
UK ‘will not yield’ on Greenland, Keir Starmer warns Donald Trump
Trump’s Davos rant should alarm Starmer
‘Thank you Tony’: Blair’s ‘Board of Peace’ role prompts Trump praise and Westminster anger
Westminster ‘riding it out’ is not a strategy for UK-US relations
Flatter or confront? How world leaders are dealing with Trump
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Political Fix was presented by George Parker and produced by Clare Williamson. Flo Phillips is the executive producer. Sound engineering by Breen Turner. Cheryl Brumley is the FT’s global head of audio.
Clip from Channel 4
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Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsGeorge Parker· Host0:00
[upbeat music] It all started so well, a year of toe-curling chitchat and carefully choreographed state visits to shore up Britain's decades-long special relationship with the United States. And for Keir Starmer, it was about the only thing that was going well, until suddenly it wasn't.
Speaker 1· Soundbite0:18
Trump's plane was just coming into Washington from Florida, nearly 2:00 in the morning US time, when he posted an abusive tweet mocking our supposedly brilliant NATO ally, the United Kingdom, for the decision to give away the island of Diego Garcia for no reason whatsoever, an act of total weakness, an act of great stupidity.
George Parker· Host0:40
Calling the Prime Minister both weak and stupid may, on the surface, have been about the UK's Chagos Islands deal, but it could just as easily have been payback for Britain's tough talk on Greenland, or the decision to let China build a vast new embassy in London, or of course, none of the above. Either way, the special relationship is under strain as never before. So where does Starmer turn next? Closer to home or further afield? Welcome to Political Fix with me, George Parker. Here with me in the studio to discuss who Starmer might make friends with now is the FT's foreign editor, Alec Russell. Hi, Alec.
Alec Russell· Panelist1:16
George, hello. Great to be back.
George Parker· Host1:18
Columnist and writer of the Inside Politics newsletter, Stephen Bush.
Stephen Bush· Panelist1:21
Hi, George.
George Parker· Host1:22
And back from parental leave, the one and only Lucy Fisher, Whitehall editor, and from next week, returning