Britain’s long-term national interest requires closer partnership with the EU, Keir Starmer has said, citing war in the Middle East and the increasingly volatile international situation.
The prime minister indicated that the conflict had refocused the government on “ambitious” new ties with Europe, economically and in defence, and said how Britain emerged from the crisis “would define us for a generation”.
Starmer also used the address at Downing Street to announce that the foreign secretary would host a meeting of other countries later this week on how to unblock the vital strait of Hormuz.
“Following that meeting, we will also convene our military planners to look at how we can marshal our capabilities and make the strait accessible and safe after the fighting has stopped. Because I do have to level with people on this. This will not be easy,” he said.
However, in the starkest indication yet that Britain was pivoting away from the US, Starmer also said he saw the UK’s future as being more closely tied to Europe ahead of an summit with the EU after last year’s post-Brexit “reset” meeting.
“Brexit did deep damage to our economy, and the opportunities to strengthen our security and cut the cost of living are simply too big to ignore,” he said, before turning to the forthcoming meeting with the EU.
“At that summit, the UK will not just ratify existing commitments made at last year’s summit. We want to be more ambitious, closer economic cooperation, closer security cooperation, a partnership that recognises our shared values, our shared interest and our shared future. A partnership for the dangerous world that we must navigate together.”
Asked by journalists if the catalyst was his apparently deteriorating relationship with Donald Trump, who has continued to castigate Britain and Starmer personally, the prime minister said that more pan-European security cooperation was in everyone’s interest.
“I actually think that will help strengthen our relationship with the US,” he said.
Asked about Trump saying he was strongly considering pulling the US out of Nato, Starmer said he would act in the UK interest, whatever the “noise”. “Whatever the pressure on me and others, whatever the noise, I’m going to act in the British national interest in the decisions that I make,” he said.
