Trump trouble: Starmer's tricky start to 2026
Political Fix
Financial Times
4.2 • 1.2K Ratings
🗓️ 9 January 2026
⏱️ 34 minutes
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Summary
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer had wanted to kick off the new year with a strong domestic start, tackling the cost of living crisis head on, in the hopes of improving his dire poll ratings. Instead, he has found himself firefighting on the international front, trying to navigate Donald Trump’s foreign policy frenzy.
How will Starmer manage his ‘special relationship’ with the US president in light of recent events? Where do Trump’s latest actions leave Nato, especially with regard to Ukraine? And what does all this global uncertainty mean for the Labour leader’s agenda at home?
Host George Parker discusses the balancing act facing the government with the FT’s deputy opinion editor Miranda Green, chief political commentator Robert Shrimsley and acting Whitehall correspondent David Sheppard.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The last few days have seen significant international events. |
| 0:04.9 | The US operation in Venezuela, threats towards Greenland, |
| 0:09.0 | and an agreement to put British troops on the ground in Ukraine. |
| 0:13.9 | So it is frankly astonishing that the Prime Minister is not making a full statement to Parliament today. |
| 0:22.5 | The leader of the opposition there, Kemi Badernock, laying down the gauntlet for Kier Stama |
| 0:27.7 | at the first Prime Minister's questions of the year. |
| 0:31.1 | The PM had wanted to kick off 2026 with a strong domestic start in the hopes of |
| 0:35.9 | improving his dire poll ratings. |
| 0:38.2 | Instead, Starmes found himself firefighting on the international stage, |
| 0:42.6 | trying to navigate Donald Trump's foreign policy frenzy. |
| 0:46.6 | Charting that special relationship was one of Stama's calling cards last year. |
| 0:51.4 | But after the kidnapping of the Venezuelan president, |
| 0:53.9 | the seizure of a Russian |
| 0:54.9 | flagged oil tanker and repeated threats to invade Greenland, how does the British Prime Minister |
| 1:00.1 | position himself now? And what does all this global uncertainty mean for the Labour leaders' agenda |
| 1:05.5 | here at home? Welcome to Political Fix with me, George Parker. With me here in the studio to try and work out where Stama goes from here, the FT's Wightall editor, David Shepard. |
| 1:16.3 | Hi, George. |
| 1:17.1 | Our UK chief political commentator Robert Stringsley. |
| 1:19.5 | Hello, George. |
| 1:20.1 | And our Deputy Opinion editor, Miranda Green. |
| 1:22.6 | Hi, Miranda. |
| 1:23.1 | Hello, George. |
... |
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