KEIR Starmer clashed with new Tory leader Kemi Badenoch on Donald Trump’s victory in the US election at PMQs.
Speaking at her first PMQs since becoming the new Conservative leader, Badenoch called on Foreign Secretary David Lammy to apologise for his 2018 description of the president-elect as a “woman-hating, neo-Nazi-sympathising sociopath” who is a “profound threat to the international order”.
Starmer was among the first world leaders to congratulate Trump as the Government looks to build bridges after the Republican politician’s campaign filed a legal complaint about Labour activists supporting Kamala Harris.
Badenoch (below) also called on Starmer to back an invitation for Trump to address Parliament and revive talks on a UK-US trade deal while one Labour MP could be heard shouting "resign" as she stood up to ask a question.
Starmer told MPs: “We live in probably a more volatile world than we’ve lived in for many decades.
“It is absolutely crucial that we have a strong relationship, that strong, special relationship forged in difficult circumstances between the US and the UK.”
Badenoch said: “It doesn’t sound like he wants to invite President-elect Trump to Parliament. He needs to look after the special relationship, the US is our single biggest trade partner.
“Given the risk of increased tariffs on UK exports, which threaten our manufacturing sector, will the Prime Minister commit now to continue the negotiations on our free trade agreement with the US, which the Biden administration cancelled when they came into office?”
The Prime Minister replied: “Of course we will discuss issues of our economy with the president-elect, as we already have done. Economy, security, and global conflicts are issues of real significance that ought to unite this House.
“When it comes to the economy, what we’ve done with our Budget is to fix the foundations after 14 years.”
Trump declared he had won a “magnificent victory for the American people” once it was clear he was on track to return to the White House as 47th president of the United States early on Wednesday.
That victory was later confirmed as a win in Wisconsin tipped him over the 270 electoral votes needed to defeat Harris.
The return of Trump to the White House could cause diplomatic headaches for the UK, with potential splits on global trade policy and the level of US support for Ukraine and Nato.
Lammy has spent time seeking to form a close relationship with the Trump campaign, despite his history of outspoken criticism of his record – which also included calling him a “racist and KKK/neo-Nazi sympathiser” in 2017 and a “tyrant in a toupee” a year later.
“The UK has no greater friend than the US, with the special relationship being cherished on both sides of the Atlantic for more than 80 years,” Lammy said on Wednesday.
Trump told supporters that “America has given us an unprecedented and powerful mandate”.
He said that he would not let his backers down and that it is “time to put the divisions of the past four years behind us”.
Addressing a campaign party in Florida in the early hours of Wednesday, Trump pledged to “fight” for “every citizen” and promised the “golden age of America”.
He added: “This is a magnificent victory for the American people that will allow us to make America great again.”
The president-elect has long complained about US tax dollars funding European security and has been highly critical about Nato members not spending enough.
He has also repeatedly claimed he would bring the war in Ukraine to an end, although he has not set out how he would achieve this.
Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy was quick to congratulate Trump and said: “I appreciate President Trump’s commitment to the ‘peace through strength’ approach in global affairs. This is exactly the principle that can practically bring just peace in Ukraine closer. I am hopeful that we will put it into action together.
“We rely on continued strong bipartisan support for Ukraine in the United States.”
Nato secretary general Mark Rutte said Trump’s leadership “will again be key to keeping our alliance strong”, adding: “Through Nato, the US has 31 friends and allies who help to advance US interests, multiply American power and keep Americans safe.”
Addressing Trump’s concerns about burden-sharing, he added: “Two-thirds of Allies now spend at least 2% of their GDP (gross domestic product) on defence, and defence spending and production are on an onward trajectory across the alliance.”
Former defence secretary Sir Ben Wallace said the return of Trump should spur European Nato members to commit more to security, with a pledge to spend 3% of GDP.
“Whatever your feelings about the US election are, the best insurance for all our security is to invest in our own defence and security right across Europe,” he said.
Reform UK’s Nigel Farage (above), a leading supporter of Trump, said the president-elect would be a “genuine radical”.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today: “What you are going to see from this Trump administration, and I’m guessing that Elon Musk will be the man that is tasked to do it, is there will be a big fightback against the administrative bureaucratic state which is far too big, far too powerful and actually very undemocratic.
“What is very interesting about the Trump movement is that its critics call it all sorts of nasty names, the truth is in many ways it’s bringing Americans together.”
