Trump’s Taken a Hammer to Years of Labour Courtship. Worth It?
8th March 2026
It is frequently said that President Trump is a transactional politician. Yet Sir Keir Starmer is the prime minister who has readily set aside his own politics to pursue what he deems the long-term reward in having close, if improbable, ties with his American counterpart.
He illustrated the prize in the most performative terms available to him last May, when, shortly after brokering a deal to cut tariffs with the United States, he headed to Jaguar Land Rover’s factory in Solihull to meet workers. Standing before a gleaming red vehicle on the factory floor, Starmer proudly declared: “We are the first country to secure such a deal with the United States. In an era of global insecurity and instability, that is so important.”
To those on the left and right who had doubted his courtship with Trump, culminating in a hand-delivered invitation from the King for a second state visit, there came the rejoinder. Cars. Jobs. Exports.
The question after Trump’s latest intervention — in which he condemned Starmer for initially failing to support his intervention in Iran, saying: “We don’t need people that join Wars after we’ve already won!” — is whether the old calculations any longer apply.
To quote a wise old Gunnery Sergeant: “If your friend pulls a gun on you, he is no longer your friend—he’s a threat, and must be dealt with accordingly.”