The prime minister has rejected any suggestion that the UK must choose between closer ties with the US or the European Union, when Donald Trump returns to the White House.
Sir Keir Starmer said his government would “never turn away” from its partnership with the US, and also promised to build stronger bonds with Europe.
He also stressed the world faced “dangerous times”, saying stability was essential for growth, and the UK must continue to back Ukraine against Russia.
There’s long been speculation the US president-elect may launch a trade war against Europe and reduce support for Ukraine, even Nato.
In such circumstances, analysts suggest Britain would come under pressure to take sides.
Last month, a close ally of Donald Trump said Britain would have to choose between the US and UK’s “special relationship” and closer ties to the EU – which Trump describes as a “mini China”.
Stephen Moore said that if the UK moved “towards more of the American model of economic freedom… it would spur the Trump administration’s willingness to the free trade agreement with the UK”.
Reflecting on Sir Keir’s speech, Sir David Manning, former UK ambassador to the US, said the prime minister had the “right approach” but warned it would not be “easy”.
“It’s going to be a question of steering our interests between the two poles,” he said.
But he said it was “no good pretending to see eye to eye” on issues such as Ukraine and the Middle East, saying the UK will have to respond to what Trump imposes.
Speaking at the Lord Mayor’s Banquet in London’s Guildhall, an annual event held by the City of London Corporation and where the prime minister traditionally speaks on international issues, Sir Keir set out how the UK would now “stand tall on the world stage”.
“Against the backdrop of these dangerous times, the idea that we must choose between our allies, that somehow we’re with either America or Europe, is plain wrong,” he said.
“I reject it utterly. Attlee did not choose between allies. Churchill did not choose.
“The national interest demands that we work with both.”
He added: “There is no growth without security – and no security without alliances.”
In private as well as in public, there is optimism from those in government gaming out how Trump’s return to the presidency might look.
Regardless of the prime minister’s insistence that he would not have to choose between the US and the EU, there is a private recognition at the top of government that what exactly a Trump presidency would mean in that regard is unclear, depending in large part on which elements of his campaign rhetoric he decides to carry through.
In his speech, Sir Keir praised the incoming US leader as gracious, adding that he told him during their meeting in New York in September that the UK “will invest more deeply than ever in this transatlantic bond with our American friends in the years to come”.
Senior officials say that the dinner held between Trump, Starmer and David Lammy in the last weeks of the presidential election at Trump Tower in New York was genuinely warm, that the presidency’s affection for Britain – his mother was born in Scotland – was apparent, and that there was no sign at all he would hold past criticism from Starmer and Lammy against them.
They are much less sure about how Trump would behave towards Britain should the government make economic and diplomatic decisions of which he disapproves, such as closer involvement with the EU or a warmer relationship with China.
One senior government source involved in the discussions said of Trump: “He really does hate the EU.”
Trump has nominated Arkansas businessman Warren Stephens to be his ambassador in the UK.
The UK government is currently in the process of picking its US ambassador, with former Labour minister Lord Mandelson believed to be a contender for the role.
In his speech, the PM repeated his promise to rebuild and renew ties with Europe, which he said were vital to Britain’s security and prosperity.
He insisted it is “deeply in our self-interest” to support Ukraine against Russian president Vladimir Putin because “the future of freedom in Europe is being decided today”.
The UK is now “determined to fight harder on the world stage for our national interests and ready to dig deeper to defend them”, he said, because a win for Putin would damage “our own security, stability and prosperity”.
“So we must continue to back Ukraine and do what it takes to support their self-defence for as long as it takes.
“To put Ukraine in the strongest possible position for negotiations so they can secure a just and lasting peace on their terms that guarantees their security, independence, and right to choose their own future.”
Supporting allies was what former prime ministers Clement Attlee and Winston Churchill had done, Sir Keir said, adding that he thought of the Attlee government of 1945 and its ambition to build “a country fit for heroes”.
“And they saw that maintaining our strength abroad gave us the foundation to succeed at home. That is as true today as it was then,” he said.
Now was the time, Sir Keir said, to “strengthen our security as the bedrock on which the economy rests – and the ultimate guarantor of everything we hold dear”.
Such words may be tested come January if the US imposes tariffs on European goods and demands the continent trades less with China, all while forcing Ukraine to cede territory.
Conservative Party co-chair Nigel Huddleston said it Sir Keir’s government had “set our country back” since Labour took power five months ago.
He said: “From driving business confidence to near-record lows, working people punished with a jobs tax, growth projections slashed, and a dash to surrender British interests overseas – it’s no wonder he’s been forced into a desperate reset.”