PM would ‘welcome’ Trump visit as ‘steadfast’ supporter of special relationship
Sir Keir Starmer would welcome a visit by Donald Trump to Parliament, Downing Street has said, describing the president-elect as a “steadfast” supporter of the UK-US “special relationship”.
The Prime Minister congratulated the Republican politician on a “historic election victory” after American voters returned him to the White House on Wednesday.
Number 10, which is seeking to build bridges with Mr Trump after his campaign filed a legal complaint about Labour activists backing rival Kamala Harris, said Sir Keir looked forward to speaking with him in “due course”.
Asked if the Prime Minister had spoken with the president-elect following Wednesday’s result, his official spokesman said: “Hopefully the president-elect is getting some well-deserved rest right now but the Prime Minister obviously looks forward to speaking to him in due course.
“He knows first-hand how busy the first couple of days are after winning an election.”
On whether Sir Keir would be open to Mr Trump addressing Parliament, as new Opposition leader Kemi Badenoch proposed in her debut sparring match at Prime Minister’s Questions, Number 10 said matters relating to the House are “for the Speaker”.
However, his spokesman added: “I think questions for the House are for the Speaker, but clearly the Prime Minister would of course welcome a visit from President-elect Trump to the UK in the future.”
Asked whether he would also welcome a visit by Mr Trump to Parliament, the spokesman said: “And to Parliament, but clearly parliamentary matters are one for the Speaker.”
Diplomatic relations between the Labour administration and the new US leader may prove strained as senior party figures, including the Foreign Secretary, have previously been strident in their criticism of him. Concerns have also mounted about the prospect of a UK-US trade deal in light of Mr Trump’s proposal to impose hefty tariffs on American imports.
Number 10 refused to be drawn on “future policy discussions” when asked on Wednesday whether such an approach would damage the UK economy, but insisted the Government is confident in standing up for Britain’s interests.
“We look forward to working with President-elect Trump including on a wide range of his policy priorities to improve the UK-US trading relations and to support the significant investment relationship that supports millions of jobs across our two countries,” Sir Keir’s spokesman said.