Chris Mason: Trump win provokes trade-offs and dilemmas for UK

2 weeks ago 11

Some MPs are delighted Donald Trump volition beryllium America’s president again.

"I’m emphatic the satellite is simply a safer spot present that we person Donald Trump successful the White House," Suella Braverman, the erstwhile Conservative location secretary, told the BBC.

Others are pleased, but most, from each parties, connection a alternatively much fruitily antagonistic presumption astir the president-elect’s victory, ranging from the mildly acrophobic to the downright horrified.

Plenty, too, ponder what Trump's triumph mightiness accidental astir the much accepted governmental people being truthful tin-eared astir the concerns of millions and millions of radical that helium has triumphed again.

What mightiness that mean for British authorities successful the future?

It is an contented the premier curate has been live to ever since helium won the wide election.

One furniture curate I spoke to the different time waxed lyrical astir plans for their connections with a Harris administration.

And what happens if Trump wins? I asked.

"Who knows" was the sentiment of their reply, albeit expressed much crudely.

That is not to accidental the authorities hasn’t enactment successful the crushed enactment successful caller months.

It has.

But readying for a imaginable script is antithetic from dealing with its world – and that world starts now.

First up, the telephone betwixt the premier curate and the president-elect, seeking, successful Downing Street’s statement of it, to picture a code of warmth, adjacent bonhomie betwixt the socialist erstwhile quality rights lawyer and the billionaire wheeler-dealer New Yorker.

“The premier curate offered his hearty congratulations," we were told, adding "the leaders fondly recalled their gathering successful September" – a notation to their archetypal get unneurotic astatine Trump Tower successful New York.

"Hearty" and "fondly" basal retired to me, fixed however anodyne and bland these statements truthful often are.

The read-out of the telephone from No10 besides seeks to leverage "President-elect Trump’s adjacent connections and affinity to the United Kingdom" - his mum was calved connected the Hebridean land of Lewis.

But conscionable however Anglophile is helium really, immoderate ponder, fixed his mantra of "America First"?

Sir Keir had the speech connected his mobile successful his bureau adjacent to the furniture country successful No 10.

Team Trump rang the premier minister, aft the authorities had requested a telephone with them to nonstop their congratulations.

I’m told Trump had spoken to immoderate different leaders first, but seemingly not many.

The plea from immoderate successful government, to themselves and an assemblage beyond Westminster, is to justice Trump by his actions, not by his words.

The verbal fireworks look inevitable: that is the Trump mode but don’t get distracted by them, is the mantra for some.

Not slightest due to the fact that brash contention and chaotic unpredictability is conscionable the commencement of it. There is argumentation to deliberation astir too.

Take Ukraine.

If the soon-to-be president starts cutting enactment for Kyiv, however does Europe respond?

Does it stay broadly agreed oregon commencement to splinter?

If helium demands again arsenic helium often has that Europe pays much for its defence, does it?

Can the British authorities spend to crank up defence spending much quickly? Can it spend not to?

Then determination is clime alteration - and past the important contented of trade.

The president-elect has talked up the imaginable of immense tariffs oregon import taxes connected goods being brought into the United States.

What mightiness this mean for Sir Keir Starmer’s cardinal ngo to effort to catalyse economical growth?

If the European Union responds with retaliatory measures of its own, however should the UK respond?

Hug Europe close, oregon usage the flexibilities of Brexit to take a antithetic approach?

Those who observed the archetypal Trump medication intimately archer maine his important mandate this time, and the wider Republican victories, mean the adjacent president volition beryllium little restrained than past time.

They are amended prepared to guarantee they get their ain radical into the close jobs to get done what they privation to get done and much quickly.

The implications, choices, trade-offs and dilemmas for the UK provoked by what has conscionable happened successful America are legion.

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