Diplomacy or Deference? Inside Sir Kier Starmer’s Tightrope with Europe and Trump
It was in the early hours of 5th July last year when Sir Keir Starmer stood outside the Tate Modern, delivering his victory speech and vowing national renewal– yet his time in Downing Street so far has been anything but smooth sailing. One need not look far to find evidence of his various domestic shortcomings.
Starmer’s cabinet has received backlash over its welfare policies, from keeping the two-child benefit cap in place, to tightening eligibility on Personal Independence Payments. This does not feel like a Britain once more in the service of working people, or policies that put ‘country first, party second’. Scandals haven’t been few and far between either. Just weeks after Labour’s landslide victory, Starmer faced ‘Freebiegate’ – revealing over £100,000 of undeclared gifts tied to senior Labour figures. Reports also allege he accepted £32,000 in gifted clothes from Labour peer Lord Waheed Alli and stayed in Alli’s £18 million penthouse during the election period to give his son a peaceful place to study for his GCSEs. Starmer’s political judgement has come under renewed scrutiny after newly unsealed files revealed that Lord Mandelson, whom Starmer appointed as UK ambassador to the US last December, had maintained a close friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, even referring to him as his ‘best pal’ after his conviction.
Despite this domestic turbulence, Starmer’s record on foreign soil, particularly in the US and Europe, reads as a slightly more hopeful story. While opinions differ on the scale of his achievements, Starmer’s more pragmatic approach to foreign diplomacy has undoubtedly begun to help rebuild Britain’s credibility on the world stage after the shockwaves of Brexit and 14 years of Conservative failure. These efforts have already begun to translate into tangible results, from the repair of strained international relationships to fresh waves of foreign investment into the UK.
On 2nd March 2025, just two days after the now-infamous Oval Office shouting match between Zelensky, Trump, and Vance, Starmer hosted the London Summit on Ukraine at Lancaster House. The contrast in tone between these two diplomatic encounters was striking. At a moment when Vance had publicly called Zelensky ‘disrespectful’ and Trump was claiming he had ‘overplayed his hand’ Starmer’s warm welcome and visible solidarity with the Ukrainian president sent a message of steadiness, unity, and alignment with Europe’s collective commitment to defending Ukraine’s sovereignty.
The London Summit also delivered results. European leaders drafted a joint peace plan aimed at strengthening US engagement and committed to increasing transatlantic pressure on Russia. At the heart of these efforts was the Prime Minister, who volunteered to take a lead role in presenting the plan to Washington. This move seemed to strategically position Britain as the diplomatic bridge between Europe and the US. Starmer impressed with his readiness to challenge Trump at a moment of such heightened tensions, and with his success in rallying 16 states backed by the EU and NATO.
Efforts to rebuild Europe’s trust haven’t stopped at the Ukrainian front. Only two and a half months later, the EU-UK Summit marked a symbolic ‘reset’ in relations between Britain and the European Union where leaders met in London for the first time since the UK left the bloc in January 2020. This summit signalled a decisive shift away from the post-Brexit estrangement of recent years and produced a new Strategic and Defence Partnership designed to deepen UK-EU cooperation on defence, security, and foreign policy. European Council President Costa reaffirmed Europe’s support in these developments, saying, ‘This summit marks a new chapter in the relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union.’.
The authority that Starmer deploys in Europe often seems to soften when we look across the pond, where flattery has become his diplomatic tool of choice. It is a tactic that, while having delivered some tangible gains for Britain, too often carries an uneasy air of desperation. This was evident in his first encounter with Donald Trump at the White House, which offered early insights into the dynamics likely to shape their particular ‘special relationship’. Starmer hand-delivered King Charles III’s invitation to Trump, offering him the honour of a historic second state visit to the UK. But in front of the cameras and the White House Press, this gesture seemed contrived and politically calculated rather than sincere. Whether tactical or cowardly from Starmer, this kind of diplomacy reflects a realism shaped by America’s enduring economic power, as well as an acknowledgment of Trumps volatile leadership style. It also pointed to a type of diplomatic approach defined not by a pursuit of Britain’s own agenda but rather an acute awareness of Trump’s importance in global affairs. Starmer appears intent on managing this and, wherever possible, turning to Britain’s advantage. In some instances, he been successful in doing so.
Image courtesy of Simon Dawson via Creative Commons, ©2025. Some rights reserved.
The US–UK tariff agreement announced in May reduced tariffs on British-made cars from 27.5% to 10% under a 100,000-vehicle quota, removed the 25 % tariff on aircraft parts, and scrapped aerospace duties altogether. The deal also included a US commitment to lift the 25% tariffs on UK steel and aluminium, contingent on supply-chain and ‘melt and pour’ conditions. Implementation, however, has been delayed, and current reports indicate that these duties remain in place for now. Nonetheless, the UK has emerged from Trump’s tariff crisis with one of the most favourable arrangements globally, a resounding foreign policy win for the Labour leader.
During Trump’s second state visit last month, Trump and Starmer signed the ‘Tech Prosperity Deal’ giving Starmer his strongest confirmation yet. The deal secured a projection of £150 billion pounds in US investment pledges, with major commitments from Silicon Valley giants including OpenAI, Google, Blackstone, Microsoft, and Nvidia to expand operations across Britain’s technology sector. Targeting areas such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors, telecommunications, and quantum technologies, the deal aims to deepen cooperation in industries central to both nations’ economic and security priorities. Downing Street hailed it as a landmark moment for Britain’s post-Brexit economy, positioning the UK as the American tech capital in Europe, while the White House described it as a ‘landmark science and technology agreement’ propelling the allies' relationship ‘to new heights for the technological age’. All in all, with the deal being touted as the biggest investment package of its kind in British history it seems, Sir Kier has earned some serious brownie points.
As the BBC’s political editor Chris Mason noted, while these developments appear very impressive, ‘the caveat, of course, with Donald Trump, is you never know.’. Indeed, the jury is still out as to whether Starmer’s deferential style of diplomacy with America will prove worth the costs to Britain’s dignity. One thing, however, remains certain: his father was a tool maker, and his mother was a nurse.
Image courtesy of heute.at via Creative Commons.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the wider St. Andrews Foreign Affairs Review team.
