In December 1941, after the Americans had been plunged into the Second World War by the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Winston Churchill travelled the Atlantic to meet with Franklin Roosevelt. As a mark of respect because of the wartime alliance, he was invited to stay in the White House. One morning the President walked into his guest’s suite to see Churchill emerge freshly scrubbed, glowing and (apart from his cigar) completely naked from his bath. Embarrassed, Roosevelt started to leave the room, but Churchill called him back. Winston said: “The Prime Minister of Great Britain has nothing to conceal from the President of the United States.”
So much for the special relationship. British prime ministers talk about it a lot, presidents not so much. It is hardly surprising that Rishi Sunak is not a household name in the US. When Joe Biden refers to you as “Rashee Sanook” and then promotes you to “Mr President”, you can’t really expect anyone else to contradict him. And even though the Biden administration’s agenda for the “health of democracies” (free elections, human rights etc) was always going to find a more natural partner in Labour, it’s still surprising that Keir Starmer is gaining quite so much traction in the US. I was on the West Coast last week and instead of people’s eyes glazing over whenever I mentioned what’s currently happening in Westminster there seemed to be considerable interest in the current Labour leader. “Starmer, right? Yeah, it’s his to lose, right?” Well, possibly, even though we’re probably a year away from an election, there is no Cool Britannia-style upswing to help matters along, and — optics, here — the cancellation of HS2 has called into question the UK’s ability to deliver big ticket projects for international investors.
I find the US interest rather strange — as far as most of them are concerned Tony Blair is still prime minister
So I find the US’s interest in Starmer rather strange. Not because there’s any reason why they shouldn’t be interested in the leader of the Opposition, but if you speak to a lot of Americans who don’t work in the media, as far as they’re concerned Tony Blair is still prime minister. And might be forever.
Years ago, when David Cameron was still a bright new thing — so new he couldn’t even spell Brexit, let alone Nigel or Farage — a friend who worked for an American magazine in New York suggested him as the subject of a profile to his editor. As my friend was halfway through his pitch, his editor — who was obviously not paying much attention — cut him off with the wave of a cufflinked hand: “What do you want to do that for? He hasn’t made a film since Titanic!”
I remember Gordon Brown having a similar recognition problem in the US when he was still chancellor. This was a harsh reminder that being a British politician in the US is a marginal activity, proof positive that Americans are as myopic as they are insular. These days I suppose you might have expected their interest in British politics to have evaporated even more, especially seeing that we have had at least a dozen prime ministers in the last 10 years. I mean how do we expect them to keep up? Of course, Boris achieved a certain amount of cut-through, although I don’t think many Americans actually thought he was really our prime minister.
I interviewed Starmer last week for the cover story of this week’s ES Magazine, and I asked him about our “special relationship”. When I asked which of the presumed candidates he would prefer to win next year’s US election he gave the predictably neutered response, saying he would of course work with whoever the American people chose. Of course I didn’t really expect him to say anything else, although it’s obviously entertaining to imagine what a Starmer-Trump relationship might look like. I can’t picture Starmer taking the Donald to the Emirates, discussing the pros and cons of Ulez in the Commons bar or going to the Pineapple in Kentish Town for a low-alcohol shandy with the shadow cabinet.
In a small hotel restaurant in Vegas last week, a Washington thoroughbred summarised Starmer’s current status: “He’s quiet, orderly, with a lawyerly demeanour and a serious disposition. He’s not shouty, wears a nice suit and seems to know what he’s talking about. The thing is, so does the other guy.” But at least some people who matter in the US have actually heard of him. Which is a special relationship in itself.
