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A senior finance minister has predicted Donald Trump will not impose high tariffs on the UK, as Labor insists it can do business with the new US administration.
Asked if the UK had a plan to deal with potential trade tariffs from the new Trump government, Darren Jones, chief secretary to the Treasury, said: “I don’t think we’re going to be in that scenario.”
“We should not see the inauguration of President-elect Trump as a risk or a bad thing for the UK. It could be a hugely positive thing with a lot of opportunities,” he told Sky News on Sunday.
Sir Keir Starmer’s centre-left administration in London is seeking a functional working relationship with the new government in Washington.
However, members of his cabinet have in the past called Trump “flammable and ignorant,” “an absolute moron,” “a major threat,” “the worst president in history” and “a racist, misogynistic, self-deprecating groper.”
Starmer’s party angered Trump’s inner circle when around 100 Labor officials went to the US earlier this year to campaign for the Democrats.
The prime minister has since done his best to strike a pragmatic stance, telling the Financial Times on Friday that he had a “constructive” relationship with the new president.
But Sadiq Khan, the Labor mayor of London, threatened to derail those reconciliation efforts on Sunday when he warned of “fascism again” ahead of the inauguration of the next US president.
Khan wrote on Sunday at an observer newspaper that the West is in a “dangerous moment” with the rise of the “extreme right” in many countries.
“European nations are coming under the influence of extreme nativist parties hostile to democratic institutions, immigrant populations and fact-based journalism,” he wrote.
“In Germany, the AfD is on course for a breakthrough in next month’s federal election. In France, the National Rally is leading in the presidential elections. And, of course, Donald Trump is back in the US.”
The last time Trump was in the White House there was a public feud between him and Khan, whom he called a “cold loser” for criticizing his presidency.
Priti Patel, the shadow foreign secretary, said: “It is not for politicians in other countries to start making disrespectful and disparaging comments about President-elect Trump,” speaking to Sky News.
Patel is expected to attend Trump’s inauguration, along with fellow Conservatives including former prime ministers Boris Johnson and Liz Truss.
Ahead of Trump’s inauguration on Monday, the Tories are vying for his ear alongside Reform UK, which has set out more right-wing policies on issues such as net zero and immigration and whose leader Nigel Farage is close to the new president.
By contrast, only one Labor politician was invited to the event: Lord Maurice Glasman, an academic who said there was “genuine genuine working-class enthusiasm” for Trump over the weekend.
Jones said he doubted Trump would block the appointment of Lord Peter Mandelson, the former business secretary, as Britain’s ambassador to the US amid speculation he could contest the appointment.
“I think . . . I think someone said something at Mar-a-Lago and it’s probably being propagated by some politicians who would like to cause a bit of a disturbance,” he said.
One Labor official said there was “no sign or indication from Trump himself that this was even likely”.
