If you want to get a hearing in the Oval Office, you better arrive bearing a gift.

That was the advice, the very public advice given to Kirstama at the weekend,

by the man formerly known as the Prince of Darkness,

now known as his Britannic Majesty's ambassador to the United States

of America. Yes, I speak of Peter Mandelson, who said the Prime Minister's gift to the

president should be a timetable for when Britain would get its defence spending up to two and a half

percent of GDP.

Nick, one of the motifs I've got on the Today program and this podcast is that all policies are trade-offs. There are winners and losers. And goodness me, there are some winners and losers

out of this one. The aid budget, which is a crucial part of Britain's soft power and

humanitarian work around the world, is taking a big, big hit.

And the winners are what some people would call the military industrial complex, but Britain's

armed forces are going to get a significant win.

And what's extraordinary about this, as we're going to go on to discuss with some real

experts in the field, is the extent to which it does appear as if what President Trump

wants he gets from other countries.

This isn't just about what Trump wants in America, but he's getting out of Europe and

crucially out of Sir Keir Starmer's Labour government, something that he wanted over here.

And the danger of a Starmer, as we'll discuss, is whether or not he comes across as fundamentally

being a follower and not a leader.

So this week we're chewing over Starmer's motivation for bringing forward his defence spending announcement

and how he's decided to pay for it and looking at what difference it will really make.

And we'll be looking at other presidential prime ministerial relationships.

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