UK politics live: Davey accuses Badenoch of ‘cheerleading’ for Trump after Starmer snubs her call for apology
Lib Dems leader Ed Davey has Kemi Badenoch ‘s support for Trump shows she doesn’t reflect British values
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Your support makes all the difference.Lib Dems leader Ed Davey has accused Kemi Badenoch of “cheerleading” for US president-elect Donald Trump during PMQs after Keir Starmer snubbed emphatic calls from the new Tories leader to apologise over a minister’s inflammatory comments.
Mr Davey took to X to say her overt support of Trump showed she didn’t reflect values connected with human rights and the rule of law, while Downing Street said the prime minister would welcome a future Donald Trump visit after congratulating him on his victory.
Earlier, an energised Badenoch seized on Trump’s victory to haul Sir Keir over foreign secretary David Lammy’s previous comments that Trump was “neo-Nazi-sympathising sociopath”.
But the Prime Minister dodged the opposition leader’s demand to apologise, assuring his relationship with Trump was strong, and sidestepped a question about whether he would invite the Republican to speak in parliament.
But Labour is divided over the impending presidency, with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s congratulations and celebration of close US ties coming up against comments from former Labour frontbencher Emily Thornberry, who has labelled Trump a racist and a predator.
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Brexit negotiator Lord Frost hails ‘very welcome victory’ for Trump
Tory former Brexit negotiator David Frost has hailed what he called a “very welcome victory” for Donald Trump, which he said had come at a “crucial time for the West”.
Lord Frost said: “For the first time, across all our countries, there are real signs of pushback against the conventional wisdom of recent years.
“Trump’s victory strengthens this decisively and sets a different course: to dismantle the over-mighty bureaucratic state, control our borders, protect free speech, stand up for historical and biological reality, end disastrous net zero policies, and get the West’s foreign and defence policies in line with our actual capabilities.
“A Harris victory would have seen another doubling down on all the policies that got us into this mess. That’s why so many progressives are so disappointed this morning: they know their ideas are on the way out, and not before time.”
Ex-PM Liz Truss says ‘let the fightback begin'
The UK’s shortest-serving prime minister Liz Truss, who has been seeking a new phase of political life herself in the United States, has congratulated Donald Trump.
“Great news for the USA and the West. Let the fightback begin!” Ms Truss said on X, formerly Twitter.
Exclusive: UK must reverse Brexit if Donald Trump wins election, Keir Starmer told
Britain must urgently rebuild ties with Europe if Donald Trump is elected on Tuesday, pro-EU campaigners have warned.
With the prospect of a brutal global trade war looming, critics of the UK’s current Brexit deal have said the country needs to rejoin the customs union, single market or the bloc itself to shield itself from the devastating fallout.
The former president has threatened to impose tariffs on all imports to America if he returns to the White House, which would cripple the UK and global economy. The US is Britain’s single biggest trade partner by far, above Germany, the Netherlands, France and China.
Amid fears a solitary UK would face a heightened impact, campaigners called for Sir Keir Starmer to urgently rebuild trade ties with the EU to insulate the country from the trade war that would follow Mr Trump’s re-election.
Political correspondent Archie Mitchell has the details in this exclusive report:
UK must reverse Brexit if Donald Trump wins election, Keir Starmer told
Exclusive: With the prospect of a brutal global trade war looming, critics of the UK’s current Brexit deal have said the country needs to rejoin the customs union, single market or the bloc itself to shield itself from the devastating fallout
Boris Johnson ‘fired’ from Channel 4’s US election coverage after being branded ‘cheap’ for book plug
Boris Johnson was “fired” from Channel 4’s US election coverage after being criticised for plugging his book.
The former prime minister was booked to commentate on the results of the presidential race alongside Republican supporter and reality TV star Caitlyn Jenner, and Stormy Daniels, the woman at the centre of Mr Trump’s hush money trial.
But, after repeatedly shoe-horning in references to his memoirUnleashed, host Krishnan Guru-Murthy said Mr Johnson had been “fired for banging on about his book too much”.
Just minutes into America Decides: US Presidential Election, Mr Guru-Murthy had told Mr Johnson to “put it away” and “stop it, enough” as he twice referenced his new book and attempted to hold it up to viewers. Guru-Murthy described the former prime minister’s actions as “so cheap”.
Mr Johnson hit back, saying: “There’s absolutely nothing you can do to stop me… I’m allowed to plug my book.” Eventually, Channel 4 replaced the former PM with Michael Cohen, Mr Trump’s former lawyer. It remains unclear if Mr Johnson’s exit was planned.
Our political correspondent Archie Mitchell reports:
Boris Johnson ‘dropped’ from Channel 4’s US election coverage after ‘cheap’ book plug
Krishnan Guru-Murthy described the former prime minister’s actions as ‘cheap’
Starmer congratulates Trump on ‘historic election victory'
Sir Keir Starmer has congratulated Donald Trump on his “historic election victory” and said that “as the closest of allies, we stand shoulder to shoulder in defence of our shared values of freedom, democracy and enterprise”.
The prime minister had met with Mr Trump in New York in September as he sought to build a relationship with the Republican.
But the Trump campaign went on to accuse Labour of interfering in the US election, citing Labour volunteers going to campaign on behalf of the Democrats, their sister party, which UK government officials dismissed as a routine tradition.
‘Deep breath time in Whitehall,’ says former chancellor
Tory former chancellor Philip Hammond has suggested that Donald Trump’s apparently impending victory in the US election means it will be “deep breath time” in Whitehall.
Speaking to the BBC, Lord Hammond, who was Theresa May’s chancellor during Mr Trump’s last presidency, said: “At least we have a pretty clear view of some of Donald Trump’s thinking. He hasn’t been shy about setting out his thoughts on the campaign trail.
“But many of those thoughts represent significant challenges, certainly for Europe, including the UK – on Nato, on the relationship with Russia, on support for Ukraine, and probably equally as importantly on trade, where some of what Mr Trump has said sounds almost as aggressive towards his allies as it does towards China.
“So I think it’s going to be deep breath time in Whitehall and in governments across Europe as they settle down to try and understand how this new administration is going to work.”
He added: “The Foreign Office will have been preparing for this for a very long time. They’ll have been looking at the scenarios of each candidate winning and they’ll have briefings for ministers across Whitehall.”
UK-based Democrats cry in London as they watch Trump declare victory
Some UK-based Democrats at a gathering in London cried as they watched Donald Trump address his supporters on television from Florida.
Those backing Kamala Harris hugged and consoled each other at the event organised by Democrats Abroad UK at a bar in central London as the results from several swing states, including Pennsylvania, suggested the path to the White House now looked clear for Mr Trump.
Very few attendees had stayed to watch the former president make his speech. Earlier, one woman cried out “that’s it” and walked out of the event as CNN called Pennsylvania for Mr Trump.
Trump declares US election victory as he hails ‘golden age’ for America
Donald Trump has declared victory in the US election as he hailed a “golden age” for America, after he was projected to win the first three swing states, including the crucial state of Pennsylvania, which is worth a whopping 19 electoral college votes, taking him just four away from the required 270.
The Republican declared victory, despite ballots still being counted in some swing states.
Speaking at his campaign watch party in Palm Beach, Mr Trump said: “This is the greatest political movement of all time and now it’s going to reach a new level of importance because we’re going to let our country heal.”
Trump continued: “This will truly be the golden age of America.”
Farage hails Trump’s ‘incredible political comeback'
As the US election results continue to roll in, Nigel Farage was the first high-profile UK politician to remark publicly on the likely outcome.
Having flown to America to back his ally Donald Trump, the Reform UK leader wrote on X: “He’s done it again. The most incredible political comeback of our lifetime.”
Good morning and welcome to The Independent’s politics live blog.
We’ll bring you the latest updates as the UK wakes up to the results of a monumental election across the Atlantic, while reaction continues to come in following the announcement of Kemi Badenoch’s new shadow cabinet.
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