US ambassador admits 'frequent turnover' of PMs 'a problem' for Washington - and reveals he’d be 'sad' to see Starmer go
The US ambassador to the UK called Sir Keir Starmer "a very, very good and decent man”
The US Ambassador to the UK has told LBC that the “frequent turnover” of British prime ministers is “a problem” for Washington, warning that political instability makes it harder to build personal relationships with the UK government.
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Speaking exclusively to Tonight with Andrew Marr on LBC, Warren Stephens also said he would be “sad” to see Sir Keir Starmer leave Downing Street, while warning that “markets don’t like uncertainty” caused by turmoil in British politics.
Asked whether instability at the top of UK politics makes it more difficult for Washington to deal with Britain, Mr Stephens said policy did not usually shift dramatically while the same party remained in power.
But he added: “Certainly the ability to have personal relationships matters and to the extent that there’s frequent turnover — that’s a problem.”
Pressed on whether Donald Trump would be sorry to see Sir Keir ousted, Mr Stephens said: “I don’t know how to answer that. I think it would probably be who replaces him.
“I can tell you this, I’d be sad to see him go. I get along with him fine. We don’t always agree, obviously, but I like him, and I think he’s a very, very good and decent man.”
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The ambassador also suggested market nerves were being fuelled by political uncertainty in the UK.
“Markets don’t like uncertainty and to the extent there’s uncertainty in the market, I haven’t looked at any of the financial markets today, but I suspect that’s what’s going on,” he told Marr.
“They’re uncertain as to what’s going to be the outcome. And markets don’t like that.”
Mr Stephens admitted it “stung” when Sir Keir refused to involve the UK in the US war with Iran, saying Washington had wanted to use bases that are “somewhat joint bases”.
He said: “We weren’t asking for the UK to join us, but we were asking to use bases that are somewhat joint bases.”
He also said the Peter Mandelson scandal had affected relations with Washington.
“It’s unfortunate that that has happened, but it probably did have an effect on our relationship, because it then took a long time to get Mandelson’s replacement in DC,” he said.
Mr Stephens also signalled there may be appetite within government for a shift on energy policy, saying “certain people in the government would be open to some additional drilling in the North Sea”.
He added that the war with Iran may have accelerated that thinking, and argued the UK had significant onshore shale gas reserves that could be “safely drilled and produced” to help cut energy bills.
Despite his concerns over political churn, Mr Stephens insisted the so-called special relationship between the UK and US would endure whoever is in power.
“I think the special relationship goes on regardless of who our political leaders are,” he said.
“And the day-to-day work between our countries, between our intelligence communities, between our militaries, it goes on. And I think that will go on regardless of who the political leaders are.”