Behind the scenes: The PM said the U.K. will “do everything we can” to ensure a lasting peace and stressed that he is “in regular contact” with all the key players including Zelenskyy and Trump. While acknowledging Starmer can’t comment on specific security details, the Tory leader made clear her party “couldn’t write a blank check” in support of British peace-keeping troops in Ukraine without clear detail. What would happen if British troops are attacked, she asked?
Keep calm: Starmer said only that conflict with Russia was “the last thing anybody wants to see” — but wouldn’t be drawn on the hypotheticals. Expect more grilling on that if MPs do get a chance to debate and vote on deploying any British troops.
Carry on: Concrete American security guarantees are seen in European capitals as essential for making any Ukraine deal work. Badenoch pressed the PM about how he could convince Trump it is in the U.S. interest to help — especially after Washington withdrew all military aid for Ukraine. Again, the PM referenced his many conversations and phone calls with Trump — but specifics on how he might actually change Trump’s mind were lacking.
Trading places: Badenoch didn’t manage to secure a U.S. trade deal in her old government role as trade secretary. But she was happy to ask whether trade deal talks had begun so the U.K. could avoid tariffs (Trump hinted Britain could be in line for carve-outs last week.) The PM said he and the president had “agreed our teams would sit down rapidly.” That’s a way off the full-fat trade deal Brits have long coveted, although Starmer ducked the change to have a dig at the Conservatives’ own failed U.S. trade efforts.
Back to normal: A sober mood was apparently in the House of Commons given the magnitude of events on both sides of the Atlantic. That grown-up stuff lasted for almost the entirety of Badenoch’s questions, until the Tory leader pivoted for a social media friendly dig at government spending as she wrapped up. “Can we afford all of this?” she probed as she slammed the government’s “higher taxes and higher borrowing” pitch. “We were doing so well,” Starmer mused, before criticizing the Tories.
Vance’s vice: There was both subtle and direct criticism of Vice President JD Vance dismissing peacekeeping assistance from “some random country that hasn’t fought a war in 30 years,” a comment he insisted wasn’t aimed at the U.K. amid anger over here. In his opening remarks, Starmer paid tribute to soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, stating the public would remember “all those who serve our country.”
