Blitz Bureau
PRIME Minister Keir Starmer has rejected any suggestion that the UK must choose between closer ties with the US or the European Union, when Donald Trump returns to the White House, as per a BBC report.
Starmer said his Government would never turn away from its partnership with the US, and also promised to build stronger bonds with Europe.
He also stressed the world faced “dangerous times”, saying stability was essential for growth, so the UK must continue to back Ukraine against Russia “as an erratic, increasingly desperate aggressor”. He added: “There is no growth without security – and no security without alliances.”
Speaking at the Lord Mayor’s Banquet in London’s Guildhall, an annual event held by the City of London Corporation and where the PM traditionally speaks on international issues, Starmer set out how the UK would now “stand tall on the world stage”.
“Against the backdrop of these dangerous times, the idea that we must choose between our allies, that somehow we’re with either America or Europe, is plain wrong,” he said. “I reject it utterly. Attlee did not choose between allies. Churchill did not choose. “The national interest demands that we work with both. “There’s long been speculation US presidentelect Donald Trump may launch a trade war against Europe and reduce support for Ukraine, even NATO.
Starmer praised the incoming US leader as gracious, adding that he told him during their meeting in New York in September that the UK “will invest more deeply than ever in this transatlantic bond with our American friends in the years to come”. He also repeated his promise to rebuild and renew ties with Europe, which he said were vital to Britain’s security and prosperity.
