The UK is at a pivotal juncture. Keir Starmer’s Government is ushering in several ‘New Labour’ personnel, a move that harkens back to the Blair era. This comes when anxiety surrounding Trump’s return looms large across the Atlantic. Several Labour MPs have said unsavoury things about President-elect Donald Trump. David Lammy, the British Foreign Secretary, has described Trump as a “neo-Nazi-sympathising sociopath.”
The timing, I speculate, is purposeful. The appointments of figures like Jonathan Powell as the national security adviser signal a strategic shift in the UK’s approach to international relations. Powell, instrumental to the peace process behind the Good Friday Agreement, brings a wealth of diplomatic experience, particularly in conflict resolution.
His appointment, alongside the consideration of other Blair-era stalwarts such as David Miliband, Peter Mandelson, and Cathy Ashton for the US ambassador role, suggests that Starmer is banking on experience to navigate the tumultuous future ahead. The UK needs diplomats who can engage with a Trump administration that will prioritise America, potentially at the expense of longstanding alliances.
But can any diplomat, irrespective of their skills, manage Trump?
Extensive experience, on paper, provides established networks, an understanding of diplomacy and a track record of negotiating significant agreements. Yet the president-elect is no textbook politician. Nor is the MAGA tidal wave opposed to the progressive, internationalist outlook of New Labour. Trump is sceptical of NATO, dislikes multilateral agreements, and is unpredictable. This could clash with the renewed British commitment to collective security and international cooperation.
Trump’s aversion to technocrats and dealing with winners could be a double-edged sword. While Starmer’s Government is an electoral success, familiar political faces might not impress an administration that bashes the establishment. The UK finds itself in a delicate balancing act, needing to assert its interests without alienating a volatile ally.
The strategy of appointing a former politician as ambassador, as suggested by Whitehall, recognises a different kind of diplomacy. Someone like David Miliband, who currently leads humanitarian organisation the International Rescue Committee in the US, could leverage his American connections and understanding of the domestic landscape to develop ties.
Yet David Milliband would stick out like a sore thumb amidst the increasingly right-ward drift in American politics. Trump’s administration, which will be stuffed full of Project 2025 architects, may not find such measured leftism endearing.
Many British politicians have demanded we look to forge closer ties elsewhere, perhaps somewhere closer to home. Ed Davey called to strengthen bonds with the European Union, mitigating the risks of an unreliable US partnership. Economic and military cooperation with European nations could provide a buffer against potential US trade tariffs and a Trumpian retreat from international commitments, threatening the war in Ukraine.
US military isolationism would impose significant costs on the UK and Europe by weakening the collective defence framework established through alliances like NATO. A reduced American military presence will indubitably leave Europe more exposed to threats from adversaries closer to home such as Russia, and further afield be it in Middle or Far Eastern theatres, not least because Trump threatened to revoke NATO-predicated US protection for any member who does not pay enough in his eyes. Combined with Trump’s myriad promises to cut off Ukraine, military costs look set to balloon across European capitals.
The UK's involvement in initiatives like the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) underscores the UK’s intent to diversify its defence relationships. Collaborating with Italy and Japan on a next-generation fighter jet will bolster its defence capabilities and signals a willingness to engage in partnerships without American involvement.
Perhaps, in the end, what is needed is cautious pragmatism. Whether weary veterans clinging to outdated early 2000s playbooks are best suited to ride out Trump’s exceptionally unpredictable blend of America First. The globalised world order which New Labour so entirely embodied seems precisely the sort of status quo Trump is by now an expert at trouncing.
The UK stands at a crossroads. Embracing the past sans adjusting to new age crypto-fascism may lead to trade war disasters and a weakened diplomatic service worldwide. Conversely, safe New Labour pairs of hands could be precisely what Britain needs to handle the chaotic 21st century that first emerged when Labour last held office.
Image: Flickr/Number 10 (Simon Dawson)
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