Starmer says UK must get closer to Europe as households brace for price rises from Iran war
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has warned that the impact of the Iran war will “affect the future of our country” but insisted that “no matter how fierce this storm, we are well-placed to weather it”.
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He declared that the Iran conflict is ‘not all out war’ and called for closer ties with the EU in the form of 'closer economic cooperation and closer security cooperation’.
In a speech to the nation today, Sir Keir said that "how we emerge from this crisis will define us for a generation."
He said he was not prepared to "ask the British people once again to go through a crisis and say business as usual."
He added that the conflict in Iran was "not our war" and reiterated that the UK "will not be drawn into the conflict" as it was not in the national interest.
Read more: Iran plans to reopen Strait of Hormuz but only 'to those who obey Tehran's new laws'
At a press conference in Downing Street today, he said: "I want to reassure the British people that no matter how fierce this storm, we are well placed to weather it, and that we have a long-term plan to emerge from it a stronger a more secure nation.”
Sir Keir also announced Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper would host a meeting of international leaders aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil shipping route being blocked by Tehran.
Military planners will be convened following that meeting to “look at how we can marshal our capabilities” and keep the Strait clear after the fighting ends, Sir Keir added.
Iranian state media said that Tehran was planning to reopen the Strait but not to the US and Israeli ships, and with conditions of passage for other nations, including a £1.5m toll for each boat.
In his speech today, Sir Keir added that he was not prepared to ask the British people to relive the energy shocks of the 1970s, insisting they would “make Britain fairer”.
He said: “I’m not prepared to ask the British people once again to go through a crisis, come out of it and say business as usual, back to the status quo.”
He also declared that he is mounting a new drive to get closer to the EU, with 'closer economic cooperation, closer security cooperation'.
There is mounting global pressure to get the Strait of Hormuz re-opened. Around a fifth of the world's oil supplies usually run through the channel, and there are huge knock-on effects for products such as fertiliser and aluminium.
Donald Trump gave an interview to the Telegraph this morning where he said the UK ‘doesn’t matter’ and that the navy is old and as aircraft carriers that ‘don’t work’.
He said: “You don't even have a navy. You're too old and had aircraft carriers that didn't work.
Pressed if the PM should spend more on defence, Mr Trump said: "I'm not going to tell him what to do. He can do whatever he wants. It doesn't matter.
"All Starmer wants is costly windmills that are driving your energy prices through the roof."
Mr Trump was asked whether he could reconsider US membership of Nato.
"Oh yes, I would say [it's] beyond reconsideration," he said.
"I was never swayed by Nato. I always knew they were a paper tiger, and Putin knows that too, by the way."