Starmer Struggles to Find Voice for UK in More Hostile World
(Bloomberg) -- Keir Starmer used his biggest international summit since becoming prime minister to say Britain was back and “looking outward to the world again.” Asserting a global role for his government proved more difficult.
Most Read from Bloomberg
Trump Promises Could Have Seismic Impact on Washington Economy
Tokyo’s Scorching Summers Focus Public Anger Against Tree Cutting
NY Congestion Pricing Survived a Pause. Here’s What Could Kill It
Starmer’s 48-hour swing through the Group of 20 meeting in Rio de Janeiro highlighted the challenges facing British foreign policy in the wake of Donald Trump’s US election victory. On one hand, he cast the UK as a staunch defender of the liberal world order it helped build. On the other, he passed up a chance to condemn the sentencing of democracy advocates in the former British colony of Hong Kong hours after his own meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The turbulent two days of diplomacy in Brazil represented Starmer’s most high-profile opportunity yet to articulate a geopolitical vision for his revitalized Labour Party, which hasn’t held power in London since the global financial crisis more than a decade ago. The intervening period has not only seen the rise of Trump, but Britain’s exit from the European Union and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the biggest war on the continent in more than 70 years.
The premier has prioritized foreign policy since winning power in July, spending almost one-quarter of his first four months in office abroad as he attempts to reset relations across the English Channel and reduce the risk of trans-Atlantic splits over Ukraine and conflict in the Middle East. Suddenly, the former chief prosecutor has been thrust to the fore of international dilemmas that have vexed more experienced statesmen, such as outgoing US President Joe Biden.
The investment in diplomacy has come at the expense of domestic concerns about yawning spending gaps and combustible opposition to a recent surge in migration. But rather than elevating Starmer above the parochial debates of Westminster, his trips overseas have often been consumed by similar questions about what grand vision is underpinning Labour’s policies.
Perhaps no issue illustrated that as much as whether the Starmer would authorize Ukraine to use UK-supplied Storm Shadow cruise missiles to strike targets deep inside Russian territory. While Starmer quickly established himself as a leading advocate for strikes Russia has warned could widen the conflict, he declined to publicly back Biden’s decision to allow Kyiv to fire America-made weapons over the border.
The results included a tense, hour-long briefing in which top aides repeatedly refused to explain the prime minister’s views on the issue. Starmer also declined to say whether he was disappointed that the G-20 communique watered down support for Ukraine.
Officials from several allied nations privately complained that they no longer understand Britain’s policy on Ukraine. The Labour government appeared to be having difficult translating aspirations like rebuilding relations with the European Union and backing Kyiv for “as long as it takes” into concrete plans, several European officials said on condition of anonymity.
“We have stood with Ukraine from the start,” Starmer told reporters. “I’ve been doubling down in my clear message that we need to ensure Ukraine has what is needed for as long as needed to win this war against Putin.”
The comments echoed the “Ming Vase” strategy that characterized Labour’s successful campaign to oust the Conservatives earlier this year, so described because one has to tread carefully to avoid breaking something precious. That has proved harder to maintain once in power, with Starmer already trailing the Conservatives in some surveys.
Starmer struck a similarly cautious tone in meetings with Xi, the first tête-à-tête between British and Chinese leaders in almost seven years. While Starmer did raise human rights in his opening statement in the public portion of his meeting with Xi, the sudden ejection of British reporters from the room reinforced perceptions that China wasn’t keen to hear it.
And the next day, the prime minister declined to criticize Hong Kong’s sentencing of 45 democracy activists for subversion related to their efforts to stage an unofficial primary election in 2020. “What we mustn’t lose is the opportunity for our economy with a better partnership when it comes to cooperating on economic and trade affairs,” Starmer said.
The case had until recently been at the center of a breakdown in relations between the UK and China, which convicted the group of democracy advocates under a sweeping national security law passed in the wake of widespread protests in 2019. Starmer’s predecessors have denounced the law as a violation of the 40-year-old treaty that allowed Hong Kong’s return to Chinese rule on a promise that Beijing would maintain its liberal institutions until 2049.
“The wheels are coming off the UK’s China policy,” said Luke de Pulford of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China think tank. “Despite having legal responsibilities to Hong Kong, the government barely whimpered.”
The timing of the China reset has raised eyebrows among British diplomats. One said they didn’t understand why Starmer was publicly courting Beijing just days after Trump’s win and nomination of several China hawks for Cabinet roles, suggesting it threatened to damage UK-US relations. Another British official conceded Starmer’s China outreach was very much a wait-and-see approach that had no guarantee of yielding a positive outcome.
Russia and China aside, Starmer’s need for a plan to deal with Trump was quickly emerging as major concern. The two men have had a bumpy start after Labour ministers’ past condemnations of Trump resurfaced and Labour activists traveled to the US to campaign for the Republican’s opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris.
Starmer has also found himself on the receiving end of criticism from key Trump adviser Elon Musk, who just this week accused the British prime minister of channeling late Soviet Union leader Josef Stalin with a plan to raise inheritance tax rates on family farms. The feud prompted an unusually frank intervention from Peter Mandelson, a former top aide to Tony Blair who the prime minister is said to be considering as his ambassador to Washington.
Mandelson urged Starmer to end the disputes with Musk and enlist Britain’s best-known Trump backer, Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage, to reach out to the once and future US president. Starmer declined to comment on the suggestion, leaving everyone to wonder what his next step will be.
Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek
Trump’s Impossible Task: Delivering for the Working Class and Billionaires
Wall Street Is Too Pumped About Trump to Worry About His Policies
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.
