Keir Starmer’s royal plan to charm Donald Trump
Exclusive: As the furore erupts over Peter Mandelson heading to Washington DC as UK ambassador, a plan is believed to be in place for senior royals to be ‘front and centre’ in a charm offensive with the president-elect – and bypass his friendship with Nigel Farage
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Your support makes all the difference.The King and the Prince of Wales are to be “front and centre” of a charm offensive on Donald Trump as Sir Keir Starmer attempts to bypass Nigel Farage and repair the damaged relationship with the president-elect and his team.
A diplomat has told The Independent that Mr Trump’s love for the royal family is seen as “the way to his heart” as the fallout from the US election continues to overshadow the UK-US special relationship.
Speaking to The Independent, Sir Keir said that the UK-US connection is “a special relationship forged in extremely difficult circumstances” because of the war in Ukraine and the ongoing crisis in the Middle East.
But with question marks over how to resolve difficulties between a Trump White House and a Labour UK government, it is understood that part of the calculation in sending Prince William alone to the reopening of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris earlier this month was to enable him to start building a relationship with Mr Trump.
It is thought putting in a “proper operator” as ambassador, with Lord Peter Mandelson heading to Washington, is only part of a complex plan to try to get the relationship back on track.
While one source close to foreign secretary David Lammy insists that “normal government business continues”, there have been question marks over rows with Mr Trump’s ally Elon Musk, who has publicly criticised Sir Keir and voiced anger over Labour helping Kamala Harris in the US election.
Sources in the Trump team have confirmed they are furious about the appointment of Lord Mandelson as UK ambassador to the US. A former chief of staff branded the Labour peer “a moron” and others inside the camp described Sir Keir’s choice as “a horrible, arrogant” choice.
Added to the problems, Reform UK’s Nigel Farage has just become the first UK party leader invited to Mr Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home since the election.
A diplomat told The Independent: “Labour is deliberately using Britain’s soft power with Prince William and King Charles front and centre as a bridge to create a good relationship with Trump. He loves the royal family and it is the best way to his heart. All this also recognising that Starmer can’t and won’t use Farage.”
The Trump adviser confirmed: “He really does love the royal family. He revered the late Queen [Elizabeth II].”
Sources close to Kemi Badenoch, who is trying to ingratiate herself with team Trump through her friendship with vice-president-elect JD Vance, said: “Trump loves Boris Johnson and the royal family more than Farage.”
The move to charm Mr Trump comes as the fallout over Labour sending 100 volunteers to help his Democrat rival Ms Harris remains a major problem between the new White House and Downing Street.
An adviser to Mr Trump told The Independent: “They [Sir Keir, Mr Lammy and Mr Trump] had dinner in New York, it did go well and there was a genuine optimism from it.
“But then, almost immediately after, we found out about the 100 Labour activists sent to the election – election interference. There was a deeply held sense of betrayal.
“I can tell you that if he could get away with it, President Trump would happily not exchange a single word with Starmer over the next four years. Obviously, he will have to but it will only be because of necessity.”
It is still not certain whether Sir Keir will even get an invite to the inauguration on 20 January as others favoured by the incoming administration such as Hungary’s Viktor Orban and Italy’s Giorgia Meloni already have.
While it is understood Mr Lammy and Mr Trump particularly hit it off at the dinner in New York in September, his son Donald Jr and others around him are still angry about the foreign secretary’s previous tweets about the president-elect.
These included calling Mr Trump a “tyrant” and “a woman-hating, neo-Nazi-sympathising sociopath”.
Already they think he will be replaced with trade minister Douglas Alexander, who spent a lot of time in New York after losing his seat as an MP in 2015.
The Trump adviser suggested: “We expect there will be some sort of reshuffle by Starmer and Lammy will be out, probably for Douglas Alexander. We know Douglas and respect him. It will be bringing an adult into the room.”
A source close to Mr Alexander told The Independent the speculation was “news to him”.
But Sir Keir is looking for a means of connecting with the soon-to-be leader of the free world while ignoring the offer from Nigel Farage to be an unofficial go-between.
The prime minister, like other European leaders, is focused on persuading Mr Trump not to abandon Ukraine in the war against Russia, with the incoming president and his inner circle apparently set on pulling the plug on financial aid and forcing some sort of deal.
There are also ongoing tensions over Sir Keir’s attempts to hand over the strategically crucial Chagos Islands to Mauritius which the incoming president wants to veto because of the jointly owned airbase on Diego Garcia.
Meanwhile, The Independent has learnt Mr Trump’s appointment of ambassador to the UK, businessman Warren Stephens, is partly inspired because of concerns Sir Keir “is going soft on Israel”.
A senior Republican source told The Independent: “Warren Stephens was a big donor to pro-Israel causes. He’s coming over to make sure Starmer stays on side supporting Israel.”
The Trump team was said to be “unhappy” about Sir Keir allowing a small arms embargo against Israel and does not think he has been as fulsome in his support as he should be.
Sir Keir told The Independent: “I’m not sending messages to President-elect Trump but what I am doing is having an ongoing discussion with him. I went to see him, as you know, in New York in September where we had a couple of hours over dinner together.
“I’ve spoken to him on the phone a couple of times as well, as have other world leaders and prime ministers across Europe.
“Starting from the UK point of view, this is a special relationship forged in extremely difficult circumstances, which has lasted a very long time and is as important today as it’s ever been. So that is an unbreakable relationship between our two countries.
“When it comes to discussions about Ukraine, obviously we act as Nato allies. That again is really important.
“So I think that as we all work towards what needs to happen next in Ukraine it is important and right that we are all having discussions amongst ourselves and with President-elect Trump.”
Mr Farage is still close to Mr Trump and has already been invited to the inauguration. But his hopes of landing an official role in dealing with him have already been ruled out.
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