Four months ago, America’s vice president stunned Europeans with a speech in Munich. The greatest threat to the continent, JD Vance argued, was not Russia, China, or any external actor, but the “threat from within”.
He said the US was most concerned about the UK, where he alleged freedom of speech was “in the crosshairs”. “In Washington, there is a new sheriff in town,” Vance said, stunning many.
An alliance that mostly kept peace since the end of the Second World War had been ended in a 20-minute speech from Donald Trump’s deputy. What followed was Trump’s sweeping tariffs targeting China alongside America’s closest trading partners; the UK, Europe, Canada, and Mexico.
Now there is fresh discord. The US has criticised a decision by the UK, Canada, Norway, Australia and New Zealand to sanction two hardline Israeli ministers -security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and finance minister Bezalel Smotrich – who have been propping up Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition cabinet since the October 7 attacks by Hamas.
JD Vance has called for more free speech in Europe (Photo: Getty)Foreign Secretary David Lammy said on Tuesday: “Ben-Gvir and Smotrich have been inciting violence against Palestinian people for months, and months and months, and months.
“We are steadfastly committed to the two-state solution which is the only way to guarantee security and dignity for Israelis and Palestinians and ensure long-term stability in the region.”
The 7 Oct attacks, which killed 1,200 people in Israel, saw Hamas take more than 250 hostages and has led to a new ground reality in the Middle East.
Israel’s attacks in Gaza have killed more than 50,000 Palestinians, which protesters allege the world’s leaders have permitted to proceed with merely the slightest condemnation.
Britain has been forging a more singular path in its relations with Isreal in recent months as the rift with America continues, however. Sir Keir Starmer already hinted at this by his Government’s decision last September to suspend some arms sales, which was denounced as “shameful” by Netanyahu.
The US’ decision to break with its allies – a move that led Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to say its previous relationship was “over” – appears to have forced several nations to act more independently, too.
The tariffs forced Canada to look to closer relationships with Europe. Last month, the UK and the EU announced a new set of trade and defence agreements, the most important reshaping of their relationship since Brexit.
Starmer said the tariffs marked “a new era in our relationship” with the US, while Trump has been marking a new era in nearly all of his. He humiliated Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office and made clear it was time for other countries to pay for its defence.
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The US has been making its own moves in the Middle East too, as the region becomes increasingly destabilised. It has been pummelling Yemen, which has also been supported by Tehran. Hamas and Hezbollah have been largely weakened, and, as a result, Iran has lost two of its proxies. In late 2024, Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad fled from Syria, having controlled the nation with an iron fist for almost 25 years.
There was a time when the US and UK were united on the Middle East, at least publicly. Tony Blair’s insistence of sticking as close to George W Bush in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks saw him send British troops to both Afghanistan and Iraq.
The invasion of the latter was based on false claims about Saddam Hussein possessing weapons of mass destruction. Hundreds of British troops lost their lives along with thousands of American soldiers, and Iraq was largely destroyed.
Lots of hyperbole gets written about the US-UK special relationship. Many British leaders have claimed the relationship is still there, sometimes to their peril. In truth it has always been an unequal arrangement, even dating back to the one between Winston Churchill and Franklin D Roosevelt.
Having exhausted its resources fighting Nazi Germany and the Axis forces, Britain needed the US to step in and help rebuild a shattered Europe. The truth is that Washington’s dominance has never receded.
But Starmer appears to be trying to play a clever hand. In the White House earlier this year, he defended the UK’s record on free speech and was able to ensure the UK was the first – and to date, only – country to sign a trade deal that saved it from the threatened tariffs, even if it was modest in scope.
While Vance’s comments four months ago shocked many, the wisest analysts admitted they highlighted something the UK and Europe had for too long taken for granted: the security guarantee provided by the US as part of Nato, even though the 31 other members spent far less of their GDP on defence.
And if Starmer has decided Britain must think even harder about its place in the world, he was no doubt motivated in part by Vance’s words.
That ought to be a good thing for the UK. And the rest of the world.
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