Writing in The Daily Telegraph, the Prime Minister says: “The UK is ready to play a leading role in accelerating work on security guarantees for Ukraine. This includes further support for Ukraine’s military, where the UK has already committed £3bn a year until at least 2030. But it also means being ready and willing to contribute to security guarantees to Ukraine by putting our own troops on the ground if necessary.”
But Starmer’s sudden hawkishness looks more like a pitch for Britain to lead Europe back into the arms of America at a critical moment for the transatlantic relationship – which has been fracturing for years.
There will be cheap shots taken at Starmer along these lines in the coming days. But in reality, this moment had been inevitable ever since Trump won his second term in November.
No matter how chaotic you might think Starmer’s first months of Government have been, things are a lot worse in France. Emmanuel Macron, a hawk who probably likes the idea of France leading a European army in Ukraine, is not politically stable enough to lead the charge, Nato officials believe. His disastrous election gamble last summer left him exposed to factions on the left and right, many of whom have pro-Kremlin sympathies.
Europe doesn't need to dance to Trump's tune
Read MoreEven if this moment was inevitable, Starmer should be applauded for making clear that Britain is ready to play a leading role in European defence. Because someone needs to.
Without wishing to oversimplify the past three years, European governments could be reasonably accused of accepting that the conflict continued to rage, providing it stayed contained within Ukraine’s borders. While lots of European money has been spent assisting Kyiv’s efforts, far more military support has come from the US. Furthermore, without that American support, the war would almost certainly have spilled beyond Ukraine’s borders.
Europeans have undeniably used the massive American security umbrella to save money on their own defences. Americans, not just Trump supporters, are, reasonably, irritated by this and want to see Europeans take responsibility for their own security. If they do, the case for America retaining its historic role within Nato is easier.
It’s uncomfortable for European leaders to admit, but they do need a bridge to America right now. Trump has gone clean over their heads to negotiate the end of a war on their continent with the conflict’s chief antagonist.
Starmer may or may not be the person to build that bridge – and to do so Britain will have to accept its diplomatic role as a junior partner to America and possibly the EU. But Europe still needs America, no matter how distasteful they find the occupant of the White House.
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