UK politics live: Badenoch congratulates Trump ahead of PMQs debut amid Starmer’s Labour divide over US vote
Labour MPs’ reactions to a second Trump presidency are split after former frontbencher Emily Thornberry broke ranks with Prime Minister Keir Starmer to repeat her condemnation of the former US president.
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Your support makes all the difference.Labour is divided over the impending presidency of Donald Trump after he declared victory in the US presidential election after a bitterly fought and divisive election campaign felt around the world.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer congratulated the former US president on his “historic election victory”, asserting both countries stood shoulder to shoulder as close allies with shared democratic values.
But the party was not unified in its response to the climactic event, with former Labour frontbencher Emily Thornberry doubling down on her previous comments labelling Trump a predator and racist, asserting “yes, well he is” to BBC Radio 4, and urging the government to tread carefully in its new relationship with the US.
London mayor Sadiq Khan said many people would be fearful of what a second Trump presidency would mean for democracy and women’s rights. “The lesson of today is that progress is not inevitable. But asserting our progressive values is more important than ever,” he said.
Across the political divide, Nigel Farage – who was in the US to watch the results come in – was the first to give his reaction to the impending win, hailing what he described as “the most incredible political comeback of our lifetime”.
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Trump will be ‘magnanimous’ in victory with UK, analyst predicts
Bronwen Maddox, director of the Chatham House international affairs think-tank, has predicted that Donald Trump will be “magnanimous” in victory with the UK – but warned there could be a “fly in the ointment”.
She said: “Keir Starmer’s got his statement out very quickly using the phrase ‘special relationship’, talking about all the ways the UK wants to work with the US.
“He and David Lammy have put in quite a lot of time getting to know Republicans around Trump as well as Trump himself.
“But Trump does bear a grudge, so whether David Lammy’s past remarks ... or the Labour activists going over, it is possible that that is a fly in the ointment.
“But my guess is that Trump will be magnanimous and receive with pleasure all these calls he gets from other heads of state.”
Lib Dem leader laments ‘dark, dark day’ as ‘destructive demagogue’ Trump on course for victory
Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey has warned of a “dark, dark day for people around the globe” as “dangerous, destructive demagogue” Donald Trump appeared on course to lead the world’s largest economy and most powerful military.
Sir Ed said: “The next President of the United States is a man who actively undermines the rule of law, human rights, international trade, climate action and global security. Millions of Americans – especially women and minorities – will be incredibly fearful about what comes next. We stand with them.
“Families across the UK will also be worrying about the damage Trump will do to our economy and our national security, given his record of starting trade wars, undermining NATO and emboldening tyrants like Putin.
“Fixing the UK’s broken relationship with the EU is even more urgent than before. We must strengthen trade and defence cooperation across Europe to help protect ourselves from the damage Trump will do.
“Now more than ever, we must stand up for the core liberal values of equality, democracy, human rights and the rule of law – at home and around the world.”
Farage says Trump will be ‘genuine radical'
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has said that Donald Trump is going to be a “genuine radical”.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “He’s going to be a genuine radical.
“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.”
He added: “What is very interesting about the Trump movement is that it’s critics call it all sorts of nasty names, the truth is in many ways it’s bringing Americans together.”
David Lammy says UK ‘looks forward to working with’ Trump and Vance
Foreign secretary David Lammy has offered his congratulations to Donald Trump.
“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,” he said on X.
“We look forward to working with you and JD Vance in the years ahead.”
In 2017, Mr Lammy said he would protest if “racist and KKK/neo-Nazi sympathiser Trump” visited London.
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.”
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