Sir Keir Starmer looks set to lose another key ally in a blow to his plans to reset the UK’s post-Brexit relationship with the European Union.
Michel Barnier looks likely to be ousted as French prime minister on Wednesday in a no-confidence motion after he pushed through a controversial budget without a vote.
If passed, it will bring down the government and force Mr Barnier’s resignation after less than three months on the job.
The move would be a setback to Sir Keir, who has developed a strong relationship with the French politician that dates back to his time as the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator.
Sir Keir has promised to fix Britain’s damaged relations with the bloc for the benefit of “generations to come”.
The PM has also rejected demands that he make a choice between a trade deal with the US and closer relations with the EU in the wake of the re-election of Donald Trump to the White House.
But the loss of Mr Barnier would come just weeks after the government of another key ally in Europe, Olaf Scholz, collapsed. The German chancellor is now widely expected to lose a general election scheduled for early next year.
In better news for the prime minister, it appears that another ally – Ireland’s Simon Harris – looks set to enter coalition talks to remain in government after his country’s general election last week.
Sir Keir told his biographer Tom Baldwin that he felt embarrassed for Britain at the start of formal Brexit talks in 2017, when Mr Barnier “turned up with a van load of papers in colour-coded ring binders, while David Davis [the then UK Brexit secretary] wandered in with nothing more than his glasses case”.
Sir Keir, then Mr Davis’s opposite number on the Labour frontbench, had met Mr Barnier several times to discuss the possibility of a “bespoke” form of customs union as part of a Brexit deal.
For his part, Mr Barnier told Mr Baldwin that even seven years ago he thought Sir Keir would one day be prime minister. “He was always learning,” he said. “He improved, day after day, year after year. While everyone else made mistakes, he was careful. From the first time we met, I thought there was something about him.”
Mr Barnier has told French MPs they face “a moment of truth” over the social security budget, and will not be forgiven by France if they fail to live up to it.
But Marine Le Pen of the far-right National Rally (RN) has accused him of failing to keep his promise to listen to those opposed to the plans.
