Meticulous planning and soft power: How Starmer secured wins for the UK at Trump meeting

Published

9 hours ago

February 28, 2025

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“Relieved is an understatement”.

That’s how one senior government figure described their mood as the prime minister, his foreign secretary and the Number 10 team left the White House having cemented Sir Keir and President Trump’s personal relationship; secured a commitment to NATO; the prospect of a trade deal that could spare the UK from tariffs and the presidential nod on the Chagos deal.

That gives you a sense of just how much was at stake going into talks with a president that has heaped criticism on many old allies in recent weeks.

That the Starmer-Trump meeting went as well as it did is proof, say those around the prime minister, of how much legwork and meticulous planning has gone into pulling it off.

The work began in opposition with Keir Starmer calling President Trump after the assassination attempt, while his foreign secretary courted vice president JD Vance.

There was the dinner in Trump Tower in September and, ever since then a prime minister who has swerved any personal or public criticism of the president.

When the visit was confirmed, the Number 10 team war-gamed all the possibilities with the prime minister, I’m told, going through all the detail and planning with aides to “make the most of the visit”.

They came out feeling that all the pieces fell into place with wins for the UK on trade and a “special” Keir Starmer coming through talks with President Trump that you could have a positive relationship with President Trump.

There were a few factors that helped the prime minister.

The first was the president’s genuine love for the UK and Sir Keir’s team’s understanding that President Trump is driven by personal relationships.

Get that right and much of the rest falls into place, say those who have seen him up close.

Sir Keir Starmer, the ponderous lawyer, has I’m told also built a genuinely warm relationship with President Trump: “They genuinely like each other and find each other easy to speak to,” is how one observer put it.

Then came the deployment of soft power.

I was in the Oval Office when the prime minister procured a personal letter from his jacket pocket from the King inviting President Trump for a second state visit.

Mr Trump was genuinely delighted as he read the letter, marvelled at King Charles’s signature and pointed out that this was the first time in history that anyone had been afforded such an “incredible” honour.

The prime minister also brought something to the table for a president that loves a deal.

The decision to lift defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 went down extremely well on Capitol Hill with Republicans and signalled to President Trump that the UK was an ally that had heeded his message on defence spending.

There were wins too.

Keir Starmer’s deal to transfer sovereignty over the Chagos Islands, where the US has a critical military base, to Mauritius, was backed by President Trump, a hugely welcome moment for a PM who has been heavily criticised about the deal back home.

And when I asked the president about his sharp remarks on EU tariffs – he said the union had been constructed to “screw” the US on trade – he told me he’d been having problems with the EU bit was in a “very different place” with the UK.

“I have a great warm spot for your country,” President Trump told me before the talks.

Afterwards, he told reporters at the press conference in the East Wing of the White House that there was a “very good chance” of a trade deal in which tariffs were not necessary.

Of course, there is a long way to go, but against a backdrop of a president threatening tariffs on a number of countries, that was a big win for the PM.

But if going out of this short visit was a story of trade, going into it was a focus on security guarantees for Ukraine.

Sir Keir said securing a backstop for European peacekeepers in Ukraine is the only way to contain President Putin.

On this, President Trump was rather more noncommittal, stressing that the priority was to do the deal first and that the mineral agreement he is poised to sign with President Zelenskyy on Friday should be deterrent enough.

On Sunday, the PM will host 18 leaders in London to discuss what to do next.

Ultimately, Europe will need to know that the US has its back on Ukraine – the PM didn’t come away from the Trump meeting assured of that yet.

Although, the message for more NATO investment was heard loud and clear again, with an expectation from the British camp that more commitment on defence spending from Europe will be required by President Trump as part of any backstop deal.

What is clear coming out of this meeting is that Sir Keir and the UK could genuinely become the bridge between the US and Europe as the deteriorating relationship between Brussels and Washington offers Sir Keir the opportunity to take the centre stage.

After a bumpy start to his premiership, the prime minister has found in his endeavour on Ukraine, a means to show leadership – and perhaps a way to win doubtful voters back around.

He has managed to find a way with President Trump. Sunday’s summit is his next test as he brings together President Zelenskyy with fellow European leaders to try to hammer out a plan to support any peace deal.

Starmer was an unlikely war footing leader.

But he is finding a way.

Politics

Minister resigns over cut to international aid budget

Published

17 mins ago

February 28, 2025

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Minister resigns over cut to international aid budget

Anneliese Dodds has quit as international development minister over Sir Keir Starmer’s decision to slash the overseas aid budget to pay for an increase in defence spending.

Ms Dodds, who is also women and equalities minister and attends cabinet, said she was resigning from both posts “with great sadness” but would continue to support the government from the backbenches.

Politics Live: Starmer back in Downing Street after Washington trip

In her resignation letter to the prime minister, she acknowledged there was “no easy path” to fund the boost to defence but claimed there had been a “tactical decision” for the Overseas Development Aid (ODA) budget to “absorb the entire burden”.

She said: “You have maintained that you want to continue support for Gaza, Sudan and Ukraine; for vaccination; for climate; and for rules-based systems.

“Yet it will be impossible to maintain these priorities given the depth of the cut; the effect will be far greater than presented, even if assumptions made about reducing asylum costs hold true.”

Ms Dodds said the cut will likely lead the UK to pull-out from numerous African, Caribbean and Western Balkan nations, as well as a withdrawal of commitments to international banks and a reduced voice in the G7 and G20.

“Ultimately, these cuts will remove food and healthcare from desperate people – deeply harming the UK’s reputation,” she added.

“I know you have been clear that you are not ideologically opposed to international development. But the reality is that this decision is already being portrayed as following in President Trump’s slipstream of cuts to USAID.”

Around £6bn per year will be taken out of the aid budget and transferred over to pay for defence.

That amounts to a reduction in aid spending from 0.5% of GDP to 0.3%.

In a letter responding to Ms Dodd’s resignation, Sir Keir said the decision to cut foreign aid “was a difficult and painful decision and not one I take lightly”.

“However, protecting our national security must always be the first duty of any government and I will always act in the best interests of the British people,” he said.

The resignation comes after a key meeting between Sir Keir and Mr Trump on Thursday, during which the US leader praised the defence sending decision and also touted the prospect of a tariff-free trade deal.

Ms Dodds marks the loss of a fourth minister from the new Labour government, after Louise Haigh and Tulip Siddiq resigned and Andrew Gwynne was sacked.

Conservative MP Andrew Mitchell, who was the international development minister under Rishi Sunak, said Ms Dodds had “done the right thing”.

He posted on X: “Labour’s disgraceful and cynical actions demean the Labour Party’s reputation as they balance the books on the backs of the poorest people in the world. Shame on them and kudos to a politician of decency and principle.”

Resignation of Dodds shows Starmer’s ruthless side

Liz Bates

Political correspondent

@wizbates

She was one of his closest allies, but today Anneliese Dodds has quit Keir Starmer’s government with a stark warning about the direction of travel.

It’s been quite a journey since she got the top job in his opposition cabinet.

When he took over as Labour leader, she was appointed shadow chancellor and seen as a key player in his team.

Since that time, Starmer has shown himself to be a pragmatic, sometimes ruthless, operator when it comes to both policy and political friendships.

This resignation once again shows that side.

Not only is he pushing through deep cuts to foreign aid – a move he previously condemned – but in doing so, he has also cast aside one of his most loyal and long-standing colleagues.

Former Tory defence minister Tobias Ellwood also praised the decision as “courageous and principled”, saying that national security is “not just about hard power” but tackling threats like disease and extremism.

However, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch backed Sir Keir’s decision.

She said: “I disagree with the PM on many things BUT on reducing the foreign aid budget to fund UK defence? He’s absolutely right.

“He may not be able to convince the ministers in his own cabinet, but on this subject, I will back him.

“National interest always comes first.”

Sir Keir announced the decision to cut the aid budget on Tuesday, saying it would fund and increase defence spending from 2.3% of GDP to 2.5% in 2027. Labour’s manifesto had pledged to reach this target but it was not clear when that would be achieved or how it would be funded.

The prime minister admitted the inauguration of Mr Trump – who has made clear he no longer wants to bankroll NATO’s defence- “accelerated” his decision but said it had been three years in the making, after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

He said the reduction in foreign aid is “not a renouncement I’m happy to make”.

Asked about it during the Convention of the North conference, deputy prime minister Angela Rayner said: “I’m sorry to hear she’s resigned, it was a really difficult decision that was made.”

However, she said it was “absolutely right” that the cabinet endorse the prime minister’s actions to spend more money on defence.