• Publish Your article
  • Editorial Policy
  • Contact
  • Advertise
Friday, October 3, 2025
No Result
View All Result
UK Herald
  • Home
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    • All
    • Sports
    England rugby stadium Twickenham given new name after more than 100 years in shock new deal

    England rugby stadium Twickenham given new name after more than 100 years in shock new deal

    Peter Morgan dead at 65: Former Wales and Lions rugby star who became a politician passes away as club pays tribute

    Peter Morgan dead at 65: Former Wales and Lions rugby star who became a politician passes away as club pays tribute

    Horse racing tips: Unexposed Group 1 contender can stun the big guns at 14-1

    Horse racing tips: Unexposed Group 1 contender can stun the big guns at 14-1

    Woman ‘raped seven times by two French rugby stars who left her riddled with bite marks & with horror injuries’

    Woman ‘raped seven times by two French rugby stars who left her riddled with bite marks & with horror injuries’

    Horse racing tips: Gary Moore’s charge can gain revenge after falling last time out

    Horse racing tips: Gary Moore’s charge can gain revenge after falling last time out

    Ian Buckett dead at 56: Former Wales rugby star who was ‘admired and feared equally’ dies as tributes pour in

    Ian Buckett dead at 56: Former Wales rugby star who was ‘admired and feared equally’ dies as tributes pour in

    Horse racing tips: Bash the bookies with these longshots including 9-1 fancy

    Horse racing tips: Bash the bookies with these longshots including 9-1 fancy

    Shayne Philpott dead at 58 – New Zealand All Blacks rugby legend dies after suffering ‘medical event’

    Shayne Philpott dead at 58 – New Zealand All Blacks rugby legend dies after suffering ‘medical event’

    Horse racing tips: This 7-1 chance appears to have been laid out for race he won last year

    Horse racing tips: This 7-1 chance appears to have been laid out for race he won last year

  • Lifestyle
    • All
    • Fashion
    • food
    • Health
    • Travel
    What is Bleach or Facial, Best for Skin?

    What is Bleach or Facial, Best for Skin?

    Tourists are flocking to a mind-bending Chinese megacity where Google Maps doesn’t work

    Tourists are flocking to a mind-bending Chinese megacity where Google Maps doesn’t work

    An ESTA change has just made travelling to America more expensive for Brits

    An ESTA change has just made travelling to America more expensive for Brits

    The best Maldives alternatives that are cheaper — and three are in Europe

    The best Maldives alternatives that are cheaper — and three are in Europe

    Italy strikes for Gaza: What tourists need to know amid travel disruption in Rome and Milan

    Italy strikes for Gaza: What tourists need to know amid travel disruption in Rome and Milan

    ‘Dystopian’ cruise ship divides travellers — and gives a glimpse into the future

    ‘Dystopian’ cruise ship divides travellers — and gives a glimpse into the future

    Airline launches flights from £9 to European hotspots including Majorca, Alicante and Seville

    Airline launches flights from £9 to European hotspots including Majorca, Alicante and Seville

    I feel like a stranger in the UK after 21 years abroad

    I feel like a stranger in the UK after 21 years abroad

    Is it safe to travel to Poland right now? Latest advice after Russian drone attack

    Is it safe to travel to Poland right now? Latest advice after Russian drone attack

    I stayed at the new London hotel with immunity-boosting IV drips and a free photobooth

    I stayed at the new London hotel with immunity-boosting IV drips and a free photobooth

    Trending Tags

    • Golden Globes
    • Mr. Robot
    • MotoGP 2017
    • Climate Change
    • Flat Earth
  • Health
  • Opinion
  • Science
  • Tech
  • Crypto
  • Travel
  • Real Estate
  • Sports
  • More
    • Press Release
UK Herald
No Result
View All Result

What Trump’s ‘liberation day’ will mean for Keir Starmer

by Justin Marsh
April 1, 2025
0
0
SHARES
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterReddit


It is “liberation” eve and as the United States prepares to lumber tariffs on some of its closest allies, one individual not feeling the emancipatory spirit is UK prime minister Keir Starmer.

“Liberation day”, in the MAGA lexicon, refers to the moment Donald Trump will announce the substance of his trade policy after weeks of speculative asides and non-committal commentary. Finally, we will know who and what will be cast in the long shadow of the US president’s trade barriers.

The expectation is that there will be few, if any, exceptions. That is the clear message of the UK government today.

Conducting the broadcast media round this morning, business and trade secretary Jonathan Reynolds indicated that his attempts to secure an exemption for the UK had failed. He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that Britain will be targeted on Wednesday, alongside every other country in the world.

According to reports, the White House has drafted a proposal for the US to impose tariffs of about 20 per cent on most imports to the world’s largest economy. Trump has already announced that a 25 per cent tariff will be introduced on all cars imported to the US — a measure which will be a blow to the UK’s automotive industry. Some 16.9 per cent of UK car exports were to the US last year, representing a total of more than 101,000 units worth £7.6 billion.

Reynolds nonetheless outlined his belief that the UK and US can still agree a bilateral deal to reverse the tariffs, and suggested one could be achieved within weeks or months. “I do believe the work we have done means the UK is in the best possible position of any country to potentially reach an agreement”, the cabinet minister clarified.

From the perspective of the UK government, Trump’s tariff regime poses three perilously intertwining diplomatic, political and economic challenges.

In diplomatic terms, Starmer has channelled a huge amount of energy into the UK-US “special relationship” since Trump seized the reins of Washington DC in January, for his second non-consecutive term. The substance of the PM and president’s conversations, including in the Oval Office earlier this year, have been focused on the fate of Ukraine. The UK government’s trade response — and Starmer insists all options are “on the table” — will need to reflect its diplomatic objectives. No 10 could well conclude that a forceful reaction risks angering the White House at a febrile geopolitical juncture.

Speaking this morning, Starmer duly suggested that the government will not issue a “knee-jerk” response. Echoing Reynolds, he confirmed that discussions on “economic deals” are continuing and “well advanced.”

Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, also urged the government not to retaliate in a set-piece speech this morning. “We should not be engaging in a trade war or tit-for-tat retaliation — that makes everybody poorer”, she said.

Like Badenoch, Starmer will be cognisant of the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) warning in its assessment of the spring statement. In the most extreme scenario modelled by the fiscal watchdog, it is estimated that a global trade war could reduce UK GDP by 1 per cent. US tariffs on all goods imports would slash 0.6 points off the OBR’s forecast of 1.9 per cent GDP growth in 2026, the body assessed.

OBR officials expanded on this warning today, in an oral evidence session at the Treasury select committee. David Miles, a member of the watchdog’s budget responsibility committee, said US tariffs at 20 per cent or 25 per cent would “knock out all the [fiscal] headroom the government currently has” if they were maintained on the UK for five years.

This point raises the prospect that the government will need to use future fiscal events — in the vein of the one Rachel Reeves unveiled before the commons *checks notes* last week — to carve out additional leeway against the government’s fiscal rules.

The political difficulty of this position is manifest. If the government opts for tax rises in the autumn budget or beyond, Labour will be brought into conflict with its election pledges; if it opts for further spending cuts, expect aggressive conflict within Labour.

There are additional political considerations here. In February for instance, the prime minister promised Trump an unprecedented second state visit to the United Kingdom in a bid to exploit his Anglophilic instincts. Whenever this trip comes to pass, the optics could prove punishing if the US president’s tariff regime inflicts real harm on the UK economically — and the government politically.

Political pressure is also being applied on the prime minister’s left flank, with the Liberal Democrats urging the government to retaliate forcefully. In a press notice this morning, the Lib Dems called on Starmer to convene COBRA, which handles matters of national emergency or major disruption, to coordinate a response to the tariffs.

“The prime minister should call a COBRA meeting today to coordinate Britain’s response to Trump’s trade war — including plans for Tesla tariffs and emergency measures to boost demand in the hardest hit sectors”, Lib Dem foreign affairs spokesperson Calum Miller commented.

The line befits the Lib Dem’s prevailing anti-Trump strategy and is also — potentially unfortunately for the PM — a popular stance. According to YouGov polling published today, 71 per cent of Britons support the levying of retaliatory tariffs on the US.

And all this is before we consider the fact that today, 1 April, is price-rise day — with energy, water, internet, council tax and a host of other bills all going up, squeezing strained household budgets further and putting the cost of living crisis at the top of the agenda once more.

A trade war with the US, if one does come to pass, would only exacerbate the cost of living.

Starmer’s dilemma is profound. If a US-UK economic deal is not forthcoming, the PM lacks a response that can reasonably navigate his diplomatic, economic, political trilemma.

Of course, the details of a US-UK economic deal could themselves be controversial — on chlorinated chicken and speculated changes to the digital services tax (DST) to benefit US tech firms. Before one considers the fiscal implications of this latter point, politically, the Lib Dems would accuse the government of “appeasing” Trump and Elon Musk.

Suffice it to say, Trump’s “liberation day” will be anything but for the UK government. The shackles that define Starmer’s limited room for manoeuvre are secured as tightly as ever.

Subscribe to Politics@Lunch

Lunchtime briefing

Andy Burnham says UK benefits policy is often written to ‘please certain newspapers’

Lunchtime soundbite

‘While change can feel slow and must accelerate, my view is that despite the noble intentions behind them in attempting to address inequalities in our justice system, these guidelines sacrifice too much.’

—  In a statement to the House of Commons, justice secretary Shabana Mahmood says the controversial sentencing council guidelines went too far.

On her feet as I write, Mahmood is outlining the Sentencing Guidelines (Pre-Sentence Reports) Bill, which “prohibit[s] the council from making guidelines about pre-sentence reports with specific reference to the offender’s personal characteristics, such as their race, religion or belief or cultural background.”

Now try this…

‘Can Keir Starmer bring down bills before bills bring him down?’
Downing Street is worried about rising energy bills. Every option for bringing them under control could bring political pain. Via Politico

‘The spring statement demonstrated the wrong way to make policy’
The IfG’s Thomas Pope writes for PoliticsHome.

‘The Lib Dems should terrify the Tories’
Ed Davey’s bid to take political ownership of Middle England represents an existential threat, writes the NS’ George Eaton. (Paywall)

On this day in 2021:

Week in Review: The national gaslight

Subscribe to Politics@Lunch

The post What Trump’s ‘liberation day’ will mean for Keir Starmer appeared first on Politics.co.uk.



Source link

Related Posts

Animal health ‘fundamental’ to rebuilding trust with rural communities, says Labour MP

Animal health ‘fundamental’ to rebuilding trust with rural communities, says Labour MP

by Justin Marsh
October 2, 2025
0

A Labour MP has described animal health as “fundamental” to a wider attempt to rebuild trust with rural communities.  Speaking on the Labour conference fringe, Josh Newbury, the MP for Cannock Chase,...

Labour branded ‘nasty party’ after minister calls Ed Davey ‘fat bloke in wetsuit’

Labour branded ‘nasty party’ after minister calls Ed Davey ‘fat bloke in wetsuit’

by Justin Marsh
September 30, 2025
0

A senior minister has referred to the Liberal Democrat leader, Ed Davey, as a “fat bloke in a wetsuit”. Torsten Bell, who serves jointly as a pensions and Treasury minister, delivered the...

Renewing the message: how can Labour fix its broken comms?

Renewing the message: how can Labour fix its broken comms?

by Justin Marsh
September 28, 2025
0

A little more than a year after their resounding general election win, the Labour Party gathers in Liverpool this weekend hoping to rekindle the goodwill that swept them into office in the...

Matt Vickers: ‘A smarter future for finance is possible’

Matt Vickers: ‘A smarter future for finance is possible’

by Justin Marsh
September 26, 2025
0

The UK has long been a global leader in financial services. Today, we have a unique opportunity to lead again – this time in building the digital infrastructure that will define the...

Bill Esterson: ‘Reform UK’s fracking stance shows it is not serious’

Bill Esterson: ‘Reform UK’s fracking stance shows it is not serious’

by Justin Marsh
September 24, 2025
0

Reform UK contends fracking would fix Britain’s energy crisis. But here’s the truth: it wouldn’t cut your bills, it wouldn’t keep the lights on, and it would cause a lot of pollution. Even in the...

Michael Gove awarded peerage in Sunak’s resignation resignation honours list

Tim Farron: ‘My opposition to assisted dying is rooted in liberalism and Christianity’

by Justin Marsh
September 22, 2025
0

The Terminally Ill Adults Bill has its second reading in the House of Lords today. I was devastated when it was passed by the House of Commons earlier this year. I’m not...

Next Post
Who are the UK’s political editors? From broadcast to print

Who are the UK’s political editors? From broadcast to print

Popular News

What is Bleach or Facial, Best for Skin?

What is Bleach or Facial, Best for Skin?

October 3, 2025
Animal health ‘fundamental’ to rebuilding trust with rural communities, says Labour MP

Animal health ‘fundamental’ to rebuilding trust with rural communities, says Labour MP

October 2, 2025
Tourists are flocking to a mind-bending Chinese megacity where Google Maps doesn’t work

Tourists are flocking to a mind-bending Chinese megacity where Google Maps doesn’t work

October 1, 2025
Labour branded ‘nasty party’ after minister calls Ed Davey ‘fat bloke in wetsuit’

Labour branded ‘nasty party’ after minister calls Ed Davey ‘fat bloke in wetsuit’

September 30, 2025
Newsletter tips from the New York Times: Visuals, strong host, short, intimate

Newsletter tips from the New York Times: Visuals, strong host, short, intimate

September 29, 2025
Renewing the message: how can Labour fix its broken comms?

Renewing the message: how can Labour fix its broken comms?

September 28, 2025
An ESTA change has just made travelling to America more expensive for Brits

An ESTA change has just made travelling to America more expensive for Brits

September 28, 2025
UK Herald

All Rights Reserved © UK HERALD - The Voice of UK

Important Links

  • Publish Your article
  • Editorial Policy
  • Contact
  • Advertise

...

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Politics
  • UK News
  • Business
  • Science
  • National
  • Entertainment
  • Gaming
  • Sports
  • Fashion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Health
  • Food

All Rights Reserved © UK HERALD - The Voice of UK