Pat McFadden rejects Trump’s alarmism and says ‘fierce’ campaign claims may not happen – UK Politics Live Politics

Good morning. The election of Donald Trump as the next US President will create profound challenges for Labor and many governments around the world, and in 24 hours we will begin to get a better idea of ​​how Labor will respond. Pat McFaddenKeir Starmer, Cabinet Office minister and the government’s chief political “fixer”, has just concluded a media interview in which he talked about almost nothing else. What are the emerging strategies? Be kind and hope for the best.

Starmer has worked hard to build a good relationship with Trump since becoming Prime Minister, and we saw more of that last night when he had his first phone call with the president-elect. No 10 issues press releases when the Prime Minister speaks to foreign leaders, and typically these are among the dullest, dullest and uninformative press releases issued by Whitehall. but this is downing street Posted last night.

The Prime Minister spoke to President-elect Donald Trump tonight to congratulate him on his historic victory.

The Prime Minister expressed his heartfelt congratulations and said he looked forward to working closely with President-elect Trump in all areas of the special relationship.

Both leaders agreed that the relationship between the UK and the US is strong and will continue to thrive for many years to come, from defense and security to growth and prosperity.

The Prime Minister also reflected on the situation in the Middle East and stressed the importance of regional stability.

The two leaders looked back fondly on their September meeting, as well as President-elect Trump’s close ties and affinity with the United Kingdom, and looked forward to working with each other.

This may seem mundane to someone unfamiliar with the way these things are usually worded, but “fondly recalling their meeting in September” is not the language you typically use in these statements. (That doesn’t sound real either; they just had dinner together — it wasn’t a bachelor’s night in Las Vegas or a weekend hike in the Rockies.) “Heartfelt congratulations” also sounds a bit excessive. Guardian readers will remember how they felt yesterday when they learned of Trump’s victory, but No 10 published a photo of Starmer talking to Trump, showing him smiling broadly as if celebrating Arsenal The victory is the same.

In the interview this morning, McFadden also insisted that Britain’s relationship with the United States was strong and would continue with Trump back in the White House. He was inevitably asked about the long list of derogatory comments made about Trump in the past by Foreign Secretary David Lamy and many other Labor politicians. He didn’t apologize for the comments or even deny them, but he also made it clear that he wasn’t keen on talking about them either and suggested that they ultimately wouldn’t have much impact. In an interview with Sky News, he was asked if he could forgive those who call him a “misogynistic, neo-Nazi sociopath” (as Lamy calls Trump), McFadden reply:

I think ultimately the relationship between the two countries is much deeper than something like this… As a cabinet member of the British government, one thing I know is that the friendship between the United States and the United Kingdom is very important for both countries to do, to maintain This is in our national interest.

But McFadden also suggested there was an element of “hoping for the best” in the British approach. Asked about Trump’s plans to impose tariffs of at least 10% on British imports, which economists say could halve British economic growth, McFadden replied:

I think you have to understand that in an election, a lot of fiery things are said, and President-elect Trump says a lot of fiery things, but what matters is what he actually does.

As a trading nation, we clearly have interests. We want to protect and look after our interests, and we always want to have a dialogue with the U.S. government on these issues.

But to anyone speculating on what exactly will happen, I suggest we wait and see what he actually does instead of accepting everything the campaign says.

Labor itself is a good example of how what a party does in government does not always correlate with what it says it expects to do during the election campaign.

Parliament is briefly adjourned today, meaning there will be no briefings in Downing Street Hall. Keir Starmer is attending the European Political Community meeting in Budapest. He won’t hold a press conference, but we expect he will play some radio segments in the afternoon. Chancellor Rachel Reeves is visiting Manchester to hold FMQs at Holyrood. Otherwise the diary looks very bland.

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