The ‘special’ UK-US relationship will need some TLC in the wake of Trump

Whoever the president, maintaining close relations with Washington is the top foreign policy priority for any UK prime minister.

And after the events of the last four years, it is a tie that is going to need more than a little TLC from 10 Downing Street if it is to deserve the cherished title of “special relationship” during Joe Biden’s presidency.

The perceived need to curry favour with the White House has led more than one prime minister into difficulties, whether Tony Blair standing “shoulder-to-shoulder” with George W Bush, Gordon Brown trying desperately to get close to Barack Obama or Theresa May holding hands with Donald Trump.

Now Boris Johnson will need to work hard to forge a warm personal relationship with a man who once described him as “a kind of a physical and emotional clone” of Trump.

To be fair to the PM, he has not been the most enthusiastic Trump fan in his administration – a title which should probably go to Michael Gove, for posing with The Donald with cheesy grins and thumbs up in Trump Tower, or Dominic Raab, for responding to Biden’s victory in November by saying it had been “a close contest”.

Before Trump’s election, Mr Johnson condemned some of his wilder rants, branding him “unfit to be president” and “clearly out of his mind” over his proposed Muslim ban.

But he was far more diplomatic once the new president was installed at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, suggesting in 2016 that he might win the Nobel Peace Prize and hailing his “many, many good qualities”. His failure to stand up for ambassador Kim Darroch when he was publicly bullied by Trump on Twitter resulted in the British diplomat’s resignation.

And Johnson’s image as a British copy of the populist-in-chief was cemented in the US mind when the president hailed him as “Britain Trump” and lavished praise on his Brexit project – without ever delivering the trade deal that was Mr Johnson’s main goal.

Mr Biden has done little to hide his distaste for Brexit, making clear that the key issue for him is the preservation of peace in Ireland as the UK leaves the EU.

His foreign policy agenda in the months after his inauguration will focus on repairing Trump’s vandalism of the Iran nuclear deal and Paris climate accord, and a UK trade deal is thought likely to be well down his list of priorities, behind a similar compact with the EU.

The former chancellor, Sajid Javid, stood out among Conservatives during the presidential campaign by declaring a Biden victory best for Britain, a move that has certainly helped his prospects of returning to the cabinet as business secretary. The UK embassy in Washington is working overtime to build links with Biden’s team, and Johnson will hope that their shared interest in climate action will help them forge bonds at the COP26 summit he is hosting in Glasgow this year.

While the pair do not start from a position of mutual respect, Mr Johnson’s chances of establishing cordial relations will be bolstered by Biden’s genial personality and his clear intention to lead a less confrontational administration than his predecessor. But it is difficult right now to see them forging one of the classic special relationships like those between Thatcher and Reagan or Blair and Clinton.

Yours,

Andrew Woodcock

Political editor