𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Donald Trump knows how to hit Sir Keir Starmer where it hurts. The Prime Minister has just suffered a humiliating loss to the Greens in a seat where Labour once weighed the votes. Now the president of the United States might as well be telling Britons to vote for Reform UK.

In an interview with The Sun, his advice for the Prime Minister amounted to an endorsement of Nigel Farage’s policy agenda. Mr Trump said: “Open up the North Sea. Immediately. Your energy prices are through the roof. And stop people from coming in from foreign lands who hate you.”

Mr Trump did not need to deliver the type of tongue-lashing that other world leaders have suffered to express his disappointment at the UK. Britain did not grant the US permission to use UK bases to launch the initial strikes against Iran, and the president has responded by downgrading the special relationship.

“It’s very sad to see that the relationship is obviously not what it was,” the president said.

In a world where the UK has long ceased to be a superpower, Britain clings to the idea that it nevertheless enjoys a unique influence with the US. That is no longer the case, Mr Trump made clear.

“This was the most solid relationship of all,” he said. “And now we have very strong relationships with other countries in Europe.”

Asked about accusations that Sir Keir was pandering to Muslim voters for political reasons, the president said that “it could be”.

Sir Keir is not under pressure from backbench Labour MPs to join the US in military adventuring – quite the opposite. That would make it even harder to stop Left-wing voters peeling off to the Greens.

The latest YouGov polling puts Zack Polanski eco-Left party on 21% – behind Reform (23%) but far ahead of both Labour and the Tories (both 16%). Ironically, having a clash with the Republican leader might be just what Sir Keir needs to endear himself with Trump-loathing Brits.

But the president’s words will be weaponised by the PM’s foes, who believe the Starmer era is a chapter of decline for Britain in which the country has weakened on a host of fronts. Sir Keir, the president said, “has not been helpful”.

Mr Trump is a keen observer of power. He knows that Reform is riding high in the polls while Labour struggles to reconnect with the country in a desperate effort to avoid disasters in this year’s elections.

Ensure our latest politics headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as a Preferred Source in your Google search settings

It would delight the MAGA leader to see Mayor of London Sadiq Khan toppled and replaced by Reform’s Laila Cunningham in 2028.

“London is a very different place, with a terrible Mayor,” he said.

Under the traditional rules of diplomacy, such open disparagement of an ally would be outrageous. But Mr Trump writes his own rules. He believes in retribution. And a disappointed president has turned his wrath in Sir Keir’s direction.

The American commander in chief said he wished the Labour leader “a lot of luck”. Sir Keir will wonder what is coming next.