Good morning Keir Starmer is in Washington, and later today he will meet President Trump for his first time since the inauguration. Trump’s consistency with Moscow is more clear than he was during his first administration and threatened to reduce the assurances that NATO has supported Western European security since World War II, so the stake cannot be higher. Starmer, despite leading a party whose activists mostly hate Trump and everything he represents, managed to build a passionate relationship with the president and will provide some clues today to enable him to maintain that level and protect Britain from Trump’s threat to release the EU’s tariff war in the EU. But Starmer is one of three European leaders in Washington this week (Emmanuel Macron is there tomorrow) and today’s meeting is also part of a broader story about the breakdown of the US/European Union. There is definitely trouble; but it is unclear whether it will still function effectively in four years after Trump.
Starmer spoke to reporters on a flight to the United States yesterday. Pippa Crerar, the political editor of the Guardian, is on the plane, and as she reported, Starmer said he hopes Trump agrees that if a peaceful peace is conducted in Ukraine, the United States will provide security assurances to last. He has already said that Britain will contribute troops to what Europe calls “Tripwire” peace forces in order to defend Ukraine and Deter Russia. But European soldiers will need American air and logistical support to be effective, and Starmer is looking for assurances on this topic.
But the background is not desired. As Starmer crossed the Atlantic Ocean, Trump WSA held a televised cabinet meeting in Soviet style, with his ministers heartily laughing at his jokes as they all congratulated each other on their outstanding performance. During the meeting, topics about Ukraine trump card explain:
I won’t go beyond safety assurance. We will have Europe doing this.
Starmer will arrive at the White House shortly after 5pm UK time, with a press conference starting at 7pm. Of course, we will cover it on site. It should be fascinating. During Trump’s first semester, Theresa May managed to get the first foreign leader to invite to the White House, and her visit (during that period she made a state visit to the president) was considered a success. However, this did not stop Trump from treating her very seriously later during the presidency, sometimes frequenting in public when they spoke privately, and at one point publicly suggested that Boris Johnson would be a better replacement.
This is the agenda of the day.
9.30 am: The Home Office released its latest asylum, resettlement and return numbers.
9.30 am: Culture Minister Lisa Nandy asked a question in the House of Commons.
After 10:30 am: Commons leader Lucy Powell issued a statement to MPs on parliament’s operations next week.
11.30 am: Downing Street held a briefing in the hall.
About 5.15pm (UK time): Keir Starmer will meet President Trump at the White House.
Around 7pm (UK time): Starmer and Trump will hold a press conference.
At some point, today’s Transport Minister Heidi Alexander is expected to announce that she is approving the decision to expand Gatwick.
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