Keir Starmer’s plans to drag Britain closer to the EU were dealt a blow today, after a new poll found voters believe the United States is our closest ally.
The new opinion survey by Savanta found that, following Donald Trump’s re-election, voters would prefer the government to prioritise the United States over the European Union or the Commonwealth.
It found that, when polled, 30% said the US is the country’s greatest ally, compared to 25% for the EU and 23% for the Commonwealth.
However it also found a large partisan split depending on who people voted for in the July election.
One in three 2024 Labour supporters said the EU is the UK’s greatest ally, whereas Tory voters preferred the US with 42% and the EU last at 14%.
The polling suggests that Sir Keir Starmer’s plan to drag Britain closer to Brussels’ orbit is the wrong strategic decision in the eyes of the public.
The Prime Minister is currently engaged in a Brexit renegotiation with the EU, with Remainers demanding that Sir Keir unpick key parts of the previous government’s withdrawal agreement.
The EU is pushing to introduce a new youth mobility scheme with Britain, which would amount to a partial reintroduction of free movement of people.
Last week the former French President Francois Hollande called on Sir Keir to come back and lead Europe after Mr Trump’s victory.
Mr Hallande said the UK and EU need to “respond to Trump’s offensive and to find solutions for the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East”.
He added: “Keir Starmer needs to position himself as a European leader, while not being in the European Union. This is what he must sell to the British public.
“Starmer is in a favourable position, one in which he needs to capitalise on the benefits, not only for the United Kingdom but also to the benefit of Europe.”
At the weekend, however, an advisor to President-elect Trump warned the UK to prioritise the US above the “socialist” European Union if he wants a trade deal with the top world economy.
Stephen Moore said that President Trump will be less interested in a free trade deal with Britain if it follows Keir Starmer’s plan for a closer alignment with the EU.
He said: “I’ve always said that Britain has to decide — do you want to go towards the European socialist model or do you want to go towards the US free market?
“Lately it seems like they are shifting more in a European model and so if that’s the case I think we’d be less interested in having [a free trade deal].
“I hope they would move towards freedom but that doesn’t seem to be the case given the budget that they just came out with in London.”
The Savanta poll found that there is cross-party consensus that Russia remains the UK’s greatest threat, at 52%, followed distantly by China (13%) and Iran (7%).
Chris Hopkins, Political Research Director at Savanta said: “Despite knowing the likely unpredictability of the incoming Trump administration, the UK public is still more likely to say that the United States is this country’s greatest ally, over European Union and Commonwealth nations.
“Interestingly, Labour voters are more likely to say countries like France and Germany are stronger allies over the US – something for Starmer’s government to think about.”
