Starmer’s Travels Outstrip Past UK Leaders, Posing Ratings Risk
(Bloomberg) -- UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer traveled abroad on official business more in his first six months in power than any of his immediate predecessors, risking the perception that he’s more interested in foreign affairs than in tackling domestic policy issues.
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The premier has spent 31 days on working trips since he took office following his Labour Party’s landslide win in the July 4 general election, according to Bloomberg research. Discounting the seven-week prime minister Liz Truss, that’s significantly more than the 19-day-average for all his predecessors going back to Tony Blair in 1997, analysis of Cabinet Office data reveals. Truss spent six days on official travel.
Starmer’s travels, from neighboring Ireland to far-flung destinations such as Samoa and Brazil are part of an effort by the new administration to show the UK is “back” on the international stage after years of turmoil as the country sought to deliver on its vote to withdraw from the European Union, loosening ties with its closest neighbors. But by being abroad for so much time, he also risks alienating voters who want him to focus on domestic problems such as the cost of living, National Health Service waiting lists and reining in both legal and irregular immigration.
“Being an international prime minister can be incredibly positive,” Victoria Honeyman, professor of British politics at the University of Leeds, said in an interview. But “if the domestic situation doesn’t turn, if it doesn’t start to pick up, then the criticisms of him being essentially absent will get an awful lot of traction because it looks like he’s even essentially fleeing.”
The prime minister’s office said in a statement that Starmer is working to rebuild the UK’s international standing after 14 years of Conservative administrations.
“Britain is back under this government and since coming into office the prime minister has begun to tackle the most pressing domestic and foreign policy priorities for the British people,” 10 Downing Street said. “We will continue to build global relations to grow our economy and deliver for the British people.”
Starmer so far has logged 16 official overseas trips, including summits of Group of 20 and Commonwealth nations, discussions with fellow European leaders, visits to troops abroad and sporting events. He’s spent 24% more days traveling in his first six months than the next best-traveled UK prime minister of the last 27 years, David Cameron, and more than double the time both his immediate predecessor Rishi Sunak and former Tory premier Boris Johnson did in their first half-year.
The premier’s frequent travel is entirely driven by him, and he genuinely enjoys the trips, which make him feel important, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be named discussing the premier’s private views. Starmer has told his officials at No. 10 that his top priorities are equally economic growth and foreign policy, they said.
When asked about his travels in a Dec. 17 interview with LBC radio, Starmer pointed to £63 billion ($78 billion) of international investment in the UK announced at a summit in October, and said he’s been able to attract cash to Britain because “we’re out there making the case for our country.”
“There’s a direct link between the work that we’re doing internationally and the impact back at home, and it’s very important that that is done,” the premier said.
Still, the premier’s penchant for foreign travel hasn’t gone unnoticed. Even by November, the words “Starmer always seems to be abroad” was coming up in focus groups held by the More in Common think tank, according to its UK director, Luke Tryl. The UK media from the traditionally Labour-supporting Guardian to the right-wing blog Guido Fawkes have pored over the details of his globe-trotting.
Critics have questioned the necessity of some of the travel. Few other high-profile world leaders joined him at the COP29 climate change summit in Baku, Azerbaijan in November, while many overseas leaders he has met with have waning influence, including outgoing US president Joe Biden, the embattled leaders of France and Canada, Emmanuel Macron and Justin Trudeau, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz who faces an election in February.
Moreover, three of the visits have been to sporting events: the opening ceremonies of the Olympics and Paralympics in Paris, and the final in Berlin of the European Championships football tournament, featuring England. Bloomberg’s tally doesn’t include Starmer’s family holiday abroad over the new year.
Starmer argues that the world is increasingly volatile in the wake of Russia’s war on Ukraine and conflicts spreading across the Middle East, making it crucial to reset relations with the EU post-Brexit and shore up collaboration on defense and security.
“I don’t necessarily think that just because a prime minister is out of the country, that means that their hand is off the tiller,” Honeyman said. But she added that the premier wouldn’t be facing criticism domestically “if things were going swimmingly in the United Kingdom.”
Starmer’s first six months in power have been characterized by a series of missteps including a scandal over freebies accepted by him and other current ministers while they were in opposition and a succession of economic measures that have alienated pensioners, farmers and businesses. To compound matters, the premier’s promise to fire up economic growth has fizzled as the economy contracted in recent months.
“It is only by delivering at home that Starmer and his government will secure support for its expansive international agenda,” Olivia O’Sullivan, director of the UK in the World program at Chatham House, said in an online commentary in late November. “The prime minister may need to do more globe-trotting yet, but he should keep making the case for why it matters.”
--With assistance from Ellen Milligan.
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